Some of the first U.S. combat operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 were launched from a former Soviet air base in southeastern Uzbekistan called Karshi-Khanabad, also known as K2. Between 2001 and 2005, about 16,000 U.S. military and Defense Department personnel served at the base.

It turns out the terrorists were not the only danger the troops faced at a site some U.S. personnel have described as a toxic wasteland.

At K2, there were reports of “black goo” oozing out of the soil — an apparent mixture of oil, solvents and other chemicals. Noxious odors filled the air, while a pond on the 1-square-mile base appeared to give off a greenish glow. Tents were often flooded by rainwater runoff mixed with various chemicals.

“The people who were there first said it was horrible,” said Daryl Riddle, whose husband, Lt. Col. Richard Riddle, deployed to K2 with the Air Force’s 8th Special Operations Squadron in 2003. “They found decontamination fields [and] enriched uranium. Also, I think there was nerve gas, asbestos and lead paint.” 

Her husband died in June 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer believed to have been connected to his service at K2. Mrs. Riddle believes the government knew K2 was flooded with deadly toxins but didn’t inform those who served there.

“They ignored the K2 guys for 20 years. He got a letter about three years after the fact saying, ‘You might have been subjected to this stuff,’” she said. 

At least 2,500 K2 veterans have reported rare cancers or other illnesses they believe are linked to their deployment, said Rep. Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican who survived two forms of cancer, likely from burn pit exposure, during his military service as an Army flight surgeon.

“Sadly, K2 veterans are dying at an increasing rate and there’s a desperate need for medical care for those who are still battling toxic exposure-related illnesses,” said Mr. Green, whose Army unit also passed through K2. “We cannot wait any longer. These veterans deserve swift action and medical care.”

Setting the record straight

After insisting for years that the health maladies of K2 veterans could not be definitively linked to their time spent at the ex-Soviet base, the Veterans Administration is now trying to set the record straight. In August, VA officials said those who deployed there and suffer from medically unexplained illnesses with multiple symptoms are presumed to have a condition brought on by their service at K2.

“We made all K2 veterans eligible for VA health care, whether or not they filed a benefits claim,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said on Oct. 29. “For every K2 claim, we’ve made sure that the unique toxic exposure as K2 — that toxic soup — is taken into account. Each new K2 claim gets reviewed a second time before any final decision is reached.”

About 13,000 out of 16,000 K2 veterans are now enrolled in the VA’s health care system. They now have higher claim and approval rates than any other cohort of veterans, Mr. McDonough said.

Unlike other operating bases occupied by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, service at K2 could jeapordize their immediate and long-term health even when the guns were silent. Some of the deployed personnel described an all-pervasive chemical odor so intense that it seemed the entire base would ignite if someone lit a match, Mr. McDonough said.

Speaking at the National Press Club, Mr. McDonough said he directed the Veterans Administration to expedite the process to add bladder, urethra and other genito-urinary tract cancers to the list of presumptive conditions for veterans who served at K2. 

“Mindful of the passage of time since their heroic service, we’ve moved aggressively to care for K2 veterans,” Mr. McDonough said. “We’ve reached out to every known living K2 veteran to encourage them to come to us for the care and the benefits that they have earned and so richly deserve.”

Mrs. Riddle said the military troops sent to K2 were proud to be part of such a critical mission in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 — even if that meant serving at a veritable toxic waste dump like K2.

“I bet that 99% of them would have gone anyway, but they expected to be taken care of after,” she said. 

Veterans organizations applauded the VA’s decision to give K2 veterans the benefit of the doubt about their service-connected health problems. Randy Reese, executive director at the Washington headquarters of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) called it a “clear win” for those Americans who endured toxic exposure at the base more than two decades ago.

The decision “is another important step toward keeping our promise to K2 veterans exposed to toxic and radioactive substances,” Mr. Reese said, adding his group would keep up the pressure to see veterans get the care and benefits they earned. 

Mr. Green, who chairs the powerful House Homeland Security Committee, said it shouldn’t have taken decades for the government to confirm a link between toxic exposure during military service and diseases like cancer.

“We now know that military leaders were supposed to communicate with K2 service members about health risks, but many claim no briefings ever took place,” the congressman said. 

He said subsurface soil testing conducted at K2 in 2001 revealed that personnel there were exposed to a variety of petrochemicals and volatile organic compounds, which evaporate at room temperature and pressure and can harm both human health and the environment. 

“I understand what these families are going through. They shouldn’t be forced to jump through bureaucratic hoops to receive care from the VA,” Mr. Green said.