Military Pilots And Ground Crew Suffering From Higher Cancer Rates

A new study from the Pentagon reveals that military pilots and ground crew members are being diagnosed with cancer at a much higher rate than the general public in the United States. Many of these air crew and ground crew members are our neighbors here in the Las Vegas Valley, serving our country at Nellis Air Force Base.

According to an article written by Tara Copp of the Associated Press found on Military.com, Congress ordered the study as part of the 2021 defense bill. Retired air crew members had been lobbying the government for years to find out why so many of the military pilots and ground crew members they knew were getting cancer. The Pentagon conducted a year-long study of 900,000 members of the U.S. Military who had flown or worked on aircraft between the years of 1990-2017.

What they found in the study is alarming. Per Copp's article, air crew members suffer from various types of cancer at a rate 24% higher than the general population. The research shows much higher rates of melanoma, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women for air crews.

The cancer rates were not as high for ground crew members, but they were higher than the general public by 3% overall. Study results show that ground crews had much higher rates of brain and nervous system cancers, thyroid cancer, kidney and renal cancers, and a higher rate of breast cancer in women.

Now that it has been confirmed that U.S. Military air crews and ground crew are suffering from higher rates of cancer, the Pentagon will have to try to find out why this is happening. Copp's article brings up the fact that aviation crews have been asking officials to determine if the jet fuels and cleaning solvents they are exposed to in their work could be causing higher rates of cancer. Aviation crews have also asked if the massive radar systems on the aircraft carriers they land on could be a contributing factor.

On the positive side, the study also showed that these air crew and ground crew members who were diagnosed with cancer had a better chance of survival than the general public due to the fact that they undergo "regular required heath check-ups" and the cancers were usually found in the earliest stages.

You can review the results of the Pentagon study by CLICKING HERE.

Let’s be friends! 👍 Follow us on all social media platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kklz963

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kklz963/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kklz963/

Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.

Veteran's Day is a day we set apart to honor all veterans of uniformed services, whether active or retired. The origin of this day goes back to World War I. Seven months before the end of the war, there was an armistice between Germany and the Allied Nations. An armistice is an agreed upon truce for a specific amount of time. The armistice went into effect on November 11, 1918, in the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

A year later, in November of 1919, President Wilson declared November 11 the first commemoration of Armistice Day. He proclaimed the day with this quote:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations" (va.gov).

Armistice Day was made an official holiday through an act of the United States Congress in May of 1938. The day was intended to celebrate veterans with a parade, meetings, and a suspension of business starting at 11am. Armistice Day was intended to honor primarily the veterans of World War I.

However, after World War II the name of the day was amended to include veterans of all wars. On June 1, 1954, Congress amended the Act of 1938 and replaced the word "armistice" with "veterans". And Veterans Day then became an official holiday, celebrated every year on November 11.

In honor of Veterans Day, we put together some basic facts that Americans should know about our vets. And a heartfelt THANK YOU for those who have served, or continue to serve, our country. We love you!

–Wendy Rush, 96.3KKLZ Las Vegas

Our military has six branches. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and the newest branch, the Space Force.

Those who serve in the U.S. Army are the only ones referred to as "Soldiers". The Navy has "Sailors". The Air Force has "Airmen". The Marine Corps has "Marines". The Coast Guard has "Coast Guardsmen". And the new Space Force has "Guardians".

The VA has reported that there are around 19 million veterans of our U.S. military. That's about 7% of our adult population.

Just over 800,000 men and women make up the National Guard and Reserve. That's about 33% of the entire military. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force all have these programs.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are approximately 200,000 men and women who leave U.S. military service and return to life as civilians.