{"id":58219,"date":"2019-06-26T13:42:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T13:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:04:28","slug":"benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/06\/12\/blue-water-veterans-bill-clears-senate-heads-to-white-house-for-final-signature\/\" target=_blank>\u201cblue water\u201d Vietnam veterans benefits act<\/a> is now law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Late Tuesday night, President Donald Trump signed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/05\/14\/plan-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits-on-the-move-again\/\" target=_blank>the legislation<\/a>, which grants presumptive status for disability benefits to an estimated 90,000 Navy veterans who served in the seas around Vietnam during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike their fellow service members stationed on the ground and on inland waterways, those veterans faced additional paperwork barriers to prove exposure to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/06\/07\/as-military-toxic-exposure-illnesses-mount-advocates-push-for-more-action\/\" target=_blank>toxic defoliants<\/a> during their deployments, even after developing identical serious cancers and respiratory illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/09\/21\/opinion-do-whats-right-for-our-blue-water-vietnam-veterans\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Vietnam2.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Do what\u2019s right for our Blue Water Vietnam veterans<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">&quot;Instead of providing adequate care to our veterans who have fought and suffered for their country, government officials who have the power to provide them with care are needlessly debating a settled issue and placing the onus on veterans to prove that they were harmed. America owes our veterans a debt, and we are failing in our duty to pay that debt.&quot;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates had long complained that put an unfair burden on the aging veterans, since water monitoring records from decades ago were inaccessible or non-existent. The higher proof of exposure blocked most so-called \u201cblue water\u201d veterans from eligibility for benefits, which can total several thousand dollars a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal appeals court in January overturned Veterans Affairs officials\u2019 policy of denying the Navy veterans claims, and lawmakers followed in subsequent months with a legislative fix to reinforce the legal ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said during a Senate hearing that even before passage of the new legislation, department staff have already begun processing the claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are working with the Department of Defense and the Department of Navy to make sure that we have those adequate lists (of eligible veterans),\u201d he said. \u201cI cannot tell you now the numbers. I can tell you we are working on them. I will promise to come back to (Congress) if we need additional resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new law will pay for the presumptive benefits change \u2014 expected to total $1.1 billion over 10 years \u2014 with a new fee on certain VA home loans. Disabled veterans will be exempt from the extra cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the Navy Vietnam veterans, the legislation also expands presumptive disability benefits to troops who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and to children of herbicide-exposed Thailand veterans born with spina bifida.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/01\/29\/court-rules-va-must-pay-disability-benefits-to-blue-water-vietnam-veterans\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_70010105491.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Court rules VA must pay disability benefits to \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The decision could affect up to 90,000 veterans who have been petitioning VA officials for disability payouts for years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Numerous veterans groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion, have praised Congress for the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, John Wells, retired Navy commander and the executive director of Military-Veterans Advocacy (which helped file the blue water lawsuit), has criticized the legislation in recent weeks for potentially limiting the scope of veterans affected by adopting a different definition of the area covered than the court ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said his group will continue lobbying Congress to add those veterans as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26,65,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3328],"class_list":["post-58219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"45M47YQABJE2BEQ6VRKCH4DBQM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-26T13:42:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T11:04:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-06-26T13:42:31+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:04:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 397,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-06-26T13:42:31+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:04:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/26\\\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight - Air Force TImes","description":"The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight","og_description":"The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2019-06-26T13:42:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T11:04:28+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight","datePublished":"2019-06-26T13:42:31+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:04:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/"},"wordCount":397,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/","name":"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-26T13:42:31+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:04:28+00:00","description":"The move ends a years-long fight to get faster disability benefits for up to 90,000 Navy veterans who served in Vietnam.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2019\/06\/26\/benefits-for-blue-water-veterans-finalized-after-years-long-fight\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Benefits for \u2018blue water\u2019 veterans finalized after years-long fight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_691224042.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58219"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96974,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58219\/revisions\/96974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58219"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}