View Full Version : Cancer deaths of soldiers stationed at K2 in 2001 - 2005
This article might be of interest to many here. (Very troubling.)
Toxic 'Black Goo' Base Used by US Had Enriched Uranium. More Veterans Report Cancer
"WASHINGTON -- For the last six weeks, a private Facebook group set up to help veterans who served at a toxic base in Uzbekistan has been flooded with new members, many with hauntingly familiar stories: I served at K2. I have cancer.
"It was overwhelming," said retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott Welsch, a special operations military intelligence officer who deployed to K2, or Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan, in October 2001.
McClatchy exclusively reported in December that the Pentagon had known from the beginning that K2, a former Soviet and Uzbek base, was contaminated with radioactive processed uranium, chemical weapons remnants and underground pools of fuel and solvents that broke through the soil in a "black goo."
Despite the contamination, about 7,000 U.S. forces were deployed there after the 9/11 attacks, from October 2001 to 2005, until Uzbekistan withdrew permission for the United States to use the base..."
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/04/toxic-black-goo-base-used-us-had-enriched-uranium-more-veterans-report-cancer.html
Badger52
02-06-2020, 16:11
Thanks for beating me to that; just read it. Had to send it to daughter. She was there for a good bit with the 10th Mtn ADVON until Triple Nickel "liberated" some deluxe accomodations in a hanger in Bagram.
Jeebers.
Thanks for beating me to that; just read it. Had to send it to daughter. She was there for a good bit with the 10th Mtn ADVON until Triple Nickel "liberated" some deluxe accomodations in a hanger in Bagram.
Jeebers.
No problem. I had never heard about it until now.
TOMAHAWK9521
02-06-2020, 17:28
Saw that article. I spent a few days there before linking up with my ODA in Kandahar. It was the beginning of March 2002 and I remember wood gang planks used in some areas for waking from point A to B, to minimize sloshing through the mud and muck. Going to and from the chow hall usually found us foregoing the ridiculously crowded gangplanks and just scampering through the rancid, black, industrial-smelling muddy water. If I recall, the OPCEN and other areas were tucked well back inside the aircraft and missile bunkers. There were more than a few open discussions, among guys working there or who passed through there, about the hazards of the place back then.
After exfilling in August, we all stayed at K2 doing rear det work for an additional 6 weeks. By then, all the bunkers were taped off with NBC warning signs and everyone was quartered in tents in different areas and working in new plywood constructed buildings. Massive improvements, relative to what it was like in the winter, had been made during our time in the box. It was just hot and dry then. No visible muck. In army terms, that means it's all good now.
Those are my observations only.
...After exfilling in August, we all stayed at K2 doing rear det work for an additional 6 weeks. By then, all the bunkers were taped off with NBC warning signs and everyone was quartered in tents in different areas and working in new plywood constructed buildings. Massive improvements, relative to what it was like in the winter, had been made during our time in the box. It was just hot and dry then. No visible muck. In army terms, that means it's all good now.
Those are my observations only.
The only problem with the hot and dry scenario is that the very soil itself was contaminated. Any wind would have subjected those soldiers anywhere near there to some very nasty schiff.
TOMAHAWK9521
02-06-2020, 22:43
The only problem with the hot and dry scenario is that the very soil itself was contaminated. Any wind would have subjected those soldiers anywhere near there to some very nasty schiff.
Oh, I realize that. It was a great deal of luck that I and many others were missed by that bullet. And I mean "missed" because dodging it wasn't possible considering how long we were on the ground there.
Just got some email from my SFA linking to a news article at SOF News. I spent a few seconds...at K-2 during my deployment in 02. There's only three guys (including me) from my 02 deployment who are still serving.
New follow up to original
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/02/27/post-911-veterans-attribute-deadly-cancers-to-contaminants-at-us-base-in-uzbekistan/
site survey
https://phc.amedd.army.mil/PHC%20Resource%20Library/EnvironmentalConditionsatK-2AirBaseUzbekistan_FS_64-038-0617.pdf
Badger52
02-28-2020, 06:15
site survey
https://phc.amedd.army.mil/PHC%20Resource%20Library/EnvironmentalConditionsatK-2AirBaseUzbekistan_FS_64-038-0617.pdfThanks for posting the add'l info. That assessment from APHC is a little "slick" for my liking.