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"A Family Tradition for 130 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, May 22, 1996 - 9 'IT'S ABOUT DAMNED TIME' Little Britain man relieved compensation fight's over By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star 1 T'S ABOUT damned time." That was the response last week, when the man who began the Canadian battle for com- pensation for veterans of the Gulf War learned that, finally, the federal government will recognize their ailment -- com- monly known as Gulf War Syndrome -- as grounds for disability claims. Yet even days after the story hit the papers, Kevin McTaggart of Little Britain was holding off celebrating. Years for fighting with a gov- ernment that refused to recog- nize his symptoms has left him suspicious and cynical. He'll wait until the claims are begun, and the more than 200 Canadian vets of the 1991 con- flict begin receiving payments and treatment. "I'm just tired of fighting with them," Mr. McTaggart said at his home on the week- end. "It's very stressful, and I'm just glad it's over." He thinks for a minute: "It's not over by a long shot, but at least the fighting is." Kevin McTAGGART was a long-serving weapons expert with the Canadian mili- tary based in Germany when he was stationed to Qatar amid mounting tensions in the Gulf in November of 1990. The world powers were squaring off with Sadam Hussein of Iraq, and war seemed inevitable; it was a matter of when the fireworks would begin. When the war began, in January of 1991, the civilian airport at which Mr. McTaggart and his Desert Cats squad were based went on full alert. That included regular alerts for Scud missiles launched by the Iraqis, and daily doses of pyrodostig- mine bromide, an untested drug that was designed to lessen the effects of nerve gas, a constant threat during the conflict. Mr. McTaggart left Qatar in February of 1991, and was sta- tioned back in Germany. It was soon after that he began to feel the effects of what would become known as Gulf Ward Syndrome. "It was April, 1991, approx-. imately a month after I got back," he recalled. "It started with muscle spasms in the upper back and neck. You couldn't move, you couldn't drive, you couldn't get out of bed." The symptoms continued, and worsened, as the year went on. Mr. McTaggart experienced stomach problems and unbear- able joint pain. He began hav- ing mood swings, and confu- sion. He had to take sick time away from his duties, but doc- tors were hard-pressed to find anything physically wrong. When one suggested some kind of post-traumatic stress disor- der, he dismissed the diagnosis. After being transferred to Cold Lake, Alta., Mr. McTaggart felt his symptoms continue -- fatigue, lower back pain, joint pain, confusion and 'depression. More doctors offered more of the same incon- clusive theories. "They said, it's all in your head; we can't find anything wrong with you." Worse, Mr. McTaggart him- self had begun to sink into a depression: "I noticed my give a sh-- factor was gone," he said. By 1993, he knew his medi- cal problems would mean a reassignment away from the aircraft and action that had been the highlight of his 18- year career in the military. In July of that year he opted for the Force Reduction Plan early retirement package, and parted ways with the military. : I: WAS DURING this time that Mr. McTaggart had begun filing the first of his three dis- ability claims with the Canadian government. In his first claim, he listed a suspicion that had dogged him since his "service in the desert: The pyni- dostigmine bromide tablets he and his colleagues had been ordered to take daily. He says now that many in the service complained of side effects even while they were taking the drug, which was designed to delay the actions of nerve gas long enough for soldiers to give themselves injections to counter the gas. Those effects, he says included profuse sweat- ing, stomach cramps, and mood swings. 'Each time he made such a claim, it was rejected. The prob- lem, he was eventually told, . was that he was relying on a phenomenon -- Gulf War Syndrome -- whose existence was denied by the government. In addition, the feds were claiming there was no scientific evidence that the symptoms reported by vets from around the world was connected to the nerve gas pills they had been issued. After a physical collapse that landed him in the hospital, Mr. McTaggart left the part- time job he'had at a provincial jail. His ailing television anten- na business fell by the wayside. Bills mounted, and tensions between him and his wife, with whom he had a boy and a girl, mounted. Mr. McTaggart resolved to fight full-time for compensa- tion. He was joined by two other vets from the Ottawa area after an appearance on national tele- vision and, as time went on, more and more vets joined in. Now there are more than 200 of them. Through his illness, he con- tinued to dog officials in Ottawa, and his local MP. "I said, I don't care how many times you guys turn me down. I'll keep coming back." His campaign was mounted during a time of deteriorating health, and immense stress in the home. "You don't know whether you're going to live, or whether you're going to die," he said. "Christ, I'm only 37 years old. I used to play hockey, and base- ball. Now I'm lucky if I can work a while in the garden without feeling pain, or getting sick to my stomach. "It's hard enough to deal with the illness," he said. "When you're dealing with the illness and fighting with the government, it becomes --- demanding." Lisar WEEK'S announc- ment by Defence Minister David Collenette that the mili- tary will give full compensation to afflicted vets of the Gulf War is the end of just a chapter, not the book. Mr. McTaggart insists that the vets want research and treatment, not just money. They are sick with something no one has clearly defined, so no effective treatment has been put forth. their health contin- ues to deteriorate, and many have felt abandoned by a mili- tary and country for whom they served, and fought. "My own theory is they (the government) know the prob- lem," he said. They don't want to admit it's their fault. "I don't blame the military. I don't know who to blame." In the meantime, the announcement of compensa- tion is welcome. Mr. McTaggart has been juggling creditors while his fight has continued, and now he wants to settle up, and get on with his life. And he hopes there is a chance to patch things up with his wife, from whom he is sep- arated. As well, he hopes the government's action will pro- vide some peace of mind and hope to the other vets, for whom he has spent the years lobbying. "Let me say it's destroyed a lot of families, including this one," he said. "It gets hairy sometimes." 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