VA may fast-track disability benefits for Air Force missile community

A review by the Department of Veterans Affairs could lead to automatic disability benefits for troops who served in the nuclear missile community, including at Air Force bases where the service is studying if airmen stationed there have been disproportionately diagnosed with cancer.

The VA said in an April 12 letter to the Torchlight Initiative, a volunteer organization formed to advocate on behalf of airmen as the missile community’s cancer concerns began emerging early last year, that it is considering whether to establish a presumption that those troops were exposed to carcinogens as part of their military service.

By receiving presumptive eligibility for VA disability benefits, a veteran does not have to prove a service connection to a disease or injury to receive federal compensation for its effects. Those disability benefits can total several thousand dollars each month.

“We will continue to gather as much science and evidence as possible to move swiftly for veterans facing serious illnesses due to military exposures,” VA wrote.

Air Force Times obtained the letter Monday; VA spokesperson Terrence Hayes confirmed its authenticity on Wednesday.

Such a review can take months or years to complete. If the decision moves forward, the airmen could join millions of veterans who were granted easier access to VA benefits under the 2022 Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — better known as the PACT Act — created to help those who worked around trash-burning pits and other sources of toxins. That access was subsequently expanded to include veterans exposed to Agent Orange, radiation contamination and more.