One of the things I have been very involved with in the past few years is identifying resources for Veterans and their caregivers. In a perfect world, the same government that sends our men and women into harm’s way would move heaven and earth to preserve the rights of veterans and protect those exposed to so many potentially life changing things.
But we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world where politicians run at the first sight of conflict and do anything they can to stay in power at the cost of those very veterans who served this country. That is one of the reasons I support the VFW, American Legion, MOAA, Navy League and USSVI. Public awareness is critical to gathering the support we need.
Recently I got a note from Nick Berez, an Awareness Advocate at the Mesothelioma Group.
Bob,
I’m part of the awareness advocate team at the Mesothelioma Group. We are a charitable organization supporting the VFW and American Legion. With over 30% of all mesothelioma patients being Veterans, a main part of our mission is to spread mesothelioma awareness to Veterans and their family members. The reason this cancer targets so many veterans is because of the extensive amount of asbestos used in past military equipment. Our goal at the Mesothelioma Group is to increase awareness, improving survival rates and life expectancy.
I’m pleased to see you have a remarkable Veteran’s Resource Links page at https://theleansubmariner.com/veterans-resource-links/. However I noticed you don’t have any information relating specifically to mesothelioma or the dangers of asbestos. I believe our Navy Veterans and Asbestos page at www.mesotheliomagroup.com/veterans/navy would be a valuable addition to your links. Our support community provides step-by-step guidance, Veteran support, and up-to-date resources, all for free.”
I will be adding this link to our resource page. But I wanted to encourage all of my readers to be aware of the issues regarding this disease. I do so because I was involved in decommissioning a few vessels where asbestos was present (sometimes in large quantities). The Navy put me on an asbestos monitoring program but at one point the program just disappeared. I hope that the need for these programs never comes into my life. But frankly, I am glad that there are groups that care enough to be there for those that do.
theleansubmariner 
Disappeared along with the PCB and atmosphere monitoring for dangerous chemicals like amine.
Oh wait, we never had those…:)
The VA has mentioned COPD but no one wants to use dirty words like mesothelioma. Hard to breath and lungs never fill. I was given an inhaler but can’t seem to pull enough air in. Word is that I smoked too much back in the day. Still do but not much and as I said, can’t really pull the smoke in very far. LOL I can walk pretty well but not uphill. Spent my service time on Diesel Subs in the Engine Rooms mostly. EN1(SS)
we as human beings there must be a sense of caring for others, especially to people with mesothelioma are caused by asbestos … therefore we should often holding of socialization or counseling about the dangers of asbestos for health for all of us … thank you very much in advance