Holy shit.

I served with several people in the PA ANG who had been deployed to K2 Air Base in the 2000's.

Not good, not good at all:

quote:

...K2 was contaminated with chemical weapons remnants, radioactive processed uranium and other hazards, according to documents obtained by McClatchy.

At least 61 of the men and women who served at K2 had been diagnosed with cancer or died from the disease, according to a 2015 Army study on the base. But that number may not include the special operations forces deployed to K2, who were likely not counted due to the secrecy of their missions, the study reported...

At Least 61 US Veterans Who Guarded 'Contaminated' Ex-Russian Base Died Or Have Cancer

Karshi-Khanabad Air Base

Ugh!

Pollution Controversy

Numerous United States Armed Forces veterans who served at the base while it was used the by U.S. military have claimed to have developed cancers and other ailments due to environmental contamination at the site. A "black goo" was described oozing out of the soil, appearing to be a mixture of solvents, oils and other chemicals. Noxious vapors were also reported, along with radiation warnings and a nearby pond that glowed green. Rainwater would reportedly flood their tents and appeared contaminated with various chemicals. [8] The United States Department of Veteran's Affairs and U.S. Army Public Health Center have both denied that an increased rate of cancers exists or that any contamination at the base posed any serious health problems. [9] The US military did, however, take steps to reduce possible sources of contamination. These steps were criticized as ineffective by veterans. [8]

link

Point 8 about the ostrich position taken, reminds me of agent orange denials.

Wasn't K2 where CIA & 5th SFG flew in to connect with the Northern Alliance during the earliest days in Nov'01; all air ops originated from K2?

Who wants to put money down that the brass that got contamination information about this base, pushed it aside and buried it, then reasoned that the base was too important to the war effort and nothing else mattered without considering any alternative sites.

Had K2 as a divert in the early days of OEF 2001, didn’t know what to expect if we landed but glad we never had to jump the border to the North. Tanking off USAF tanker drogues that looked like smashed tacos was worth the risk when that far north.

quote:

radioactive processed uranium

And how would that end up in the wild?

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Wasn't K2 where CIA & 5th SFG flew in to connect with the Northern Alliance during the earliest days in Nov'01; all air ops originated from K2?

True that they ran a lot of SFG ops out of K2, but there were other routes for air support from day 1.

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:

quote:

radioactive processed uranium

And how would that end up in the wild?

The article said something about missile destruction; knowing the Russians, they probably destroyed them by simply blowing them up in place on the launchers.

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:

quote:

radioactive processed uranium

And how would that end up in the wild?

We used the stuff for armor piercing rounds in the A10 ammo. Its hard to dispose of, but easy to shoot it. Lots cheaper than tungsten carbide.

There was a clean up problem in Kosovo, never heard about it being taken care of. I'm not trying to cover for the Ruskies, but we're no better in this regard.

A friend of mine (who is actually quoted in the linked McClatchy article) sent this to me earlier in the week.

I hope this new exposure helps them get the assistance they need, going forward.

- Brian

My buddies in the 20th were there.
Several are sick. Several have died.
Some really bad stuff was in that environment.