Presumptive Veteran Disability Benefits
If you suffer from a presumptive condition and can demonstrate exposure (through time and place of service) to a certain contaminant, you may be eligible for presumptive service connection. If you have a presumptive condition and can prove exposure to the contaminant, it is presumed that your service caused the condition.
To determine if you might qualify, check the following groups.
Camp Lejeune
Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 days between 08/01/1953 and 12/31/1987.
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder, kidney, and liver cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
For more information, check out the VA’s article on Camp Lejeune presumptive conditions.
Exposure to Burn Pits
Any of these locations on or after 09/11/2001.
- Afghanistan
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Syria
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
Any of these locations on or after 08/02/1990.
- Bahrain
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Arabian Sea
- Gulf of Aden
- Gulf of Oman
- Neutral zone between Iraq/Saudi Arabia
- Persian Gulf
- Red Sea
- Brain cancer
- Gastrointestinal cancer of any type
- Glioblastoma
- Head cancer of any type
- Kidney cancer
- Lymphoma of any type
- Melanoma
- Neck cancer of any type
- Pancreatic cancer
- Reproductive cancer of any type
- Respiratory cancer of any type
- Asthma that was diagnosed after service
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Chronic rhinitis
- Chronic sinusitis
- Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis
- Emphysema
- Granulomatous disease
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
- Pleuritis
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Sarcoidosis
For more information, check out the VA’s article on Burn pit exposure presumptive conditions.
Agent Orange
Eligibility is based on whether you served at any of the following locations in their respective time frame and diagnoses of the following conditions.
Republic of Vietnam
- January 9, 1962 – May 7, 1975
Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand
- January 9, 1962 – June 30, 1976
Laos
- December 1, 1965 – September 30, 1969
Cambodia at Miot or Krek, Kampong Champ Province
- April 16, 1969 – April 30, 1969
Guam or American Samoa
- January 9, 1962 – July 31, 1980
Johnston Atoll
- January 1, 1972 – September 30, 1977
Korean DMZ
- September 1, 1967 – August 31, 1971
- Bladder cancer
- Chronic B-cell leukemia
- Hodgkin’s disease
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Prostate cancer
- Respiratory cancers (including lung cancer)
- Some soft tissue sarcomas
- AL amyloidosis
- Chloracne (or other types of acneiform disease like it)
- Diabetes mellitus type 2
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Hypothyroidism
- Ischemic heart disease
- Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)
- Parkinsonism
- Parkinson’s disease
- Peripheral neuropathy, early onset
- Porphyria cutanea tarda
For more information, check out the VA’s article on Agent Orange exposure presumptive conditions.
Gulf War
Any of these locations on or after 08/02/1990.
- Afghanistan (airspace not included and only service after September 19, 2001)
- Bahrain
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- The waters of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
These conditions are presumed if you were diagnosed while on active duty or at any time after separation, and you’ve been sick for at least 6 months:
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Functional gastrointestinal disorders
- Medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness
- Other undiagnosed illnesses, such as cardiovascular signs and symptoms, muscle and joint pain, and headaches
These conditions are presumed if you were diagnosed within 1 year of separation:
- Brucellosis
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
- Malaria (or sooner in some cases)
- Nontyphoid salmonella
- Shigella
- West Nile virus
These conditions are presumed if you were diagnosed any time after separation:
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Visceral leishmaniasis
For more information, check out the VA’s article on Gulf War presumptive conditions.