Former Army intelligence analyst Elba Barr is trained to connect the dots – the training she is now using to dig through a bunch of medical records.
“There has been something huge since 2013 every year, in medical terms,” Barr told CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge.
Although Barr was deployed across the Middle East and Africa after 9/11 to track al-Qaeda, there is no doubt in his mind that the most toxic and dangerous place was Karshi-Khanabad, or K2, a former Soviet air base in Uzbekistan, a starting point for confidential missions in Afghanistan.
“K2 was for me, a base that should never have been a base … dangers, signs everywhere where its dangers were,” she said.
The mother of two, 41, blames the four months she spent at K2 for her chronic reproductive health problems.
“I had cervical problems, I continued to have severe pain, endometriosis. I had to have a partial hysterectomy. Last year, I had both ovaries removed and they found the onset of stage 1 cancer,” said Barr.
Barr is one of more than 200 K2 veterans who flooded a Facebook page where members discuss contamination and health problems.
The non-profit organization that tracks K2 cases says that 40% of former women at the base reported at least one miscarriage, 8% reported breast or uterine cancer and 30% reported ovarian cancer or related problems. This data horrified Barr – bringing her to tears.
Six months Investigation CBS News revealed soil saturated with aviation kerosene, oil and lubricants, radiation warnings, as well as previous use of chemical agents.
Defense Department employee Mike Lechlitner was involved in the base’s first tests. He said the new information revealed a lot about the base.
“We learned that the Soviets have a chemical weapons decontamination unit adjacent to our camp.”
Images obtained by CBS News show that the base was also a garbage dump for used chemical weapon equipment, including protective equipment such as face masks that were used to block chemical agents. These masks were found in the “tent city”, where troops worked and slept.
Courtesy of Phillip Sandell
Barr said the CBS News investigation changed her life, giving her clarity about the cause of the medical problems she had been facing for years.
“I spent most of the ten years asking myself, ‘Am I going crazy? … And that’s what [the CBS News investigation] did. It validated everything, a decade of questions. “
Barr is now opening up to his children about his toxic exposure.
“I have no doubt that I will die young. You are assuming that I am not. I live on borrowed time, 100%. It is not a question of if, it is a question of when,” Barr told Herridge.
Despite the data, the Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize a link between K2 and disease. Barr wants the leadership to grow and, despite the suffering of her and other veterans, she is sure that they would serve again.
“And if you ask us, we’ll do it again, in the blink of an eye. All we ask is that we kept our share of the deal and it’s at the VA and the Department of Defense to hold theirs.”
Acting defense secretary Chris Miller drafted an executive order that would open the door to medical aid and financial relief for K2 veterans. Executive order was in its final stages when the Capitol was invaded by rioters last Wednesday. The group of K2 veterans is hopeful that it will still be signed by President Trump, although they are contacting the Biden government if there is no action before the inauguration day.