By Giulia Lasagni
Medill Reporter
WASHINGTON – The Medill/Military Reporters and Editors National Security breakfast briefing series kicked off on Friday, Oct. 15 at the National Press Club with a panel discussion on the impact of environmental issues on military operations and the health of the troops.
The briefings, aimed at offering training in national security to working journalists, are part of the Medill National Security Initiative, a program sponsored by the McCormick Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation.
Video: Kelly Kennedy's tips on war coverage
Environmental issues should no longer be overlooked in conflict zones, both because of their impact on troops’ health and for strategic reasons, the panelist agreed.
Beth Lachman, a researcher at Rand Corporation who in 2008 co-authored a study on how environmental issues affected the Army’s performance in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, said that addressing these issues are “important in boosting military success.”
Especially now that the Army is increasingly involved in post-conflict and nation-building operations, Lachman said, environmental concerns should play a larger role in shaping strategy.
In her study, Lachman found not only that good environmental practices, such as providing clean water or preserving natural resources, can be key in gaining support from local populations in conflict areas, but also can positively affect diplomatic relations with other states. A dispute with a neighboring country over water and air pollution or contamination in a region controlled by U.S. troops may on the contrary lead to diplomatic difficulties and even conflict.
Despite their crucial importance, Lachman said that the Army has no comprehensive approach in dealing with these issues and does not invest enough resources in them, especially in hiring a sufficient number of experts in the field.
Another problem, Lachman said, is that environment-friendly practices, such as those used at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, are not transferred to other parts of the Army or to combat zones.
Joseph R. Chenelly, left, and Beth Lachman, right. (Sarah Chacko photo)
In recent years, burn pits, which are open-air landfills used by the military to burn trash in conflict areas, have become a source of controversy because of their apparent link to troops’ health problems.
Kelly Kennedy, president of Military Reporters and Editors and a health reporter for Military Times, was among the first reporters to bring this problem to light. Kennedy said that the military is reluctant to acknowledge the long-term effects of troops’ exposure to toxic materials, such as dioxin released from burning plastic.
Despite legislation approved in 2009 prohibiting the disposal of hazardous material, a report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office found that this practice is still in use at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Joseph R. Chenelly of the Disabled Veterans of America said that in the last two years an increasing number of veterans have suffered from health problems, such as lung cancer, pulmonary disease, sleep apnea and migraines, which might be connected to exposure to burn pits.
Chenelly, who said that more 600 veterans are now included in a database created by Disabled Veterans of America to monitor the incidence of burn pit-related pathologies among troops, called for the creation of an official registry of all the service members exposed to such toxic emissions.
