Twenty years after the Persian Gulf War, many vets say they still can't trust VA when it comes to illnesses they say are related to Desert Storm.

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer

As the 20-year anniversary of Desert Storm looms, one out of four veterans who served there are sick, even as veterans advocates and the Veterans Affairs Department still bicker.

It comes down to this: Veterans believe they have evidence showing that chemical exposure caused their ailments and that VA refuses to acknowledge those studies.

Veterans say VA instead continues to focus on studies that address Gulf War veterans' mental health issues, pursuing the idea that the illnesses are all in their heads.

"To date, VA has historically opted not to recognize our condition," said Donald Overton Jr., executive director of Veterans of Modern Warfare. "They are emphasizing stress versus science."

But VA officials say they are striving to be transparent, that their newest research is based on more than 400 studies, and that the "mindfulness" and "mood and memory" research they have proposed is not about mental health, but about trying to relieve the pain issues so many Gulf War veterans face.