A review by the Department of Veterans Affairs could lead to automatic disability benefits for troops who served in the nuclear missile community, including at Air Force bases where the service is studying if airmen stationed there have been disproportionately diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The VA said in an April 12 letter to the <\/b>Torchlight Initiative, a volunteer organization formed to advocate on behalf of airmen as the missile community\u2019s cancer concerns <\/b>began emerging early last year, that it is considering whether to presume that those troops were exposed to carcinogens as part of their military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By receiving presumptive eligibility for VA disability benefits, a veteran does not have to prove a service connection to a disease or injury to <\/b>receive federal compensation for its effects. Those disability benefits can total several thousand dollars each month.<\/p>\n\n\n\t