The Pentagon denies using Agent Orange at Fort Ord
By Pat Elder
April 18, 2025
Records kept by the Army show herbicides containing 50% 2,4-D and 50% 2,4,5-T were routinely sprayed on thousands of acres at Fort Ord to control poison oak where soldiers trained. Agent Orange is composed of a 50-50 mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T (photos from Vietnam and the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.)
The Armed Forces Pest Management Control Board, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment issued a statement on March 11, 2025 denying the use of “tactical herbicides” at Fort Ord. They wrote to Dr. Kyle Horton of On Your Side Action: “We have uncovered no evidence that suggests that tactical herbicides were tested, stored, or used at Fort Ord, California.”
The DOD refers to the Agent Orange used in Vietnam as “tactical herbicides.” They claim there is a difference between the “tactical herbicides” used in Vietnam and the “commercial herbicides” used at Fort Ord.
This is a fabrication, and it is used by the Pentagon to deny eligible compensation and treatment, resulting in suffering and death to hundreds of thousands of exposed and injured soldiers and their dependents.
Veterans from Fort Ord and bases across the county who present presumptive conditions citing Agent Orange exposure are summarily rejected, while there is substantial compelling evidence documenting the use of Agent Orange at Fort Ord and many other locations.
Between 2003 and 2021, the VA received approximately 130,000 disability compensation claims from Vietnam veterans for three presumptive conditions linked to Agent Orange exposure: early-onset peripheral neuropathy, chloracne, and porphyria cutanea tarda. Of these, only about 11,000 claims roughly 8% - were approved, meaning around 119,000 claims were denied.
The VA does not publicly disclose specific approval rates for individual presumptive diseases linked to Agent Orange, including: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Ischemic Heart Disease, Prostate Cancer, Chronic B-cell Leukemias, Hodgkin’s Disease & Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, and Bladder Cancer. No veterans have been officially awarded VA benefits for diseases attributed specifically to Agent Orange exposure at Fort Ord.
A report by an Army agronomist documents the spraying of up to 9,000 acres with 2,4 -D and 2,4,5-T alone, and in various concentrations. Agent Orange is composed of a 50-50 mixture of 2,4 -D and 2,4,5-T, and it is the 2,4,5-T that contains deadly dioxin. As a result, the pure 2,4,5-T sprayed on poison oak at Fort Ord is much more potent than the Agent Orange sprayed in Vietnam. Yet the Pentagon has developed a false distinction and denies "Agent Orange" and its essential components was used at bases across the U.S.
Here’s our evidence concerning
the use of Agent Orange at Fort Ord
Veterans have stated in sworn testimony that the Pest Control Shop on base carried Agent Orange from 1973 to 1980.
A citation in the magazine, “The Military Engineer” from 1956 indicated the use of both 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T as brush killers at Fort Ord.
The 1991 Hazardous Waste Minimization Assessment from Fort Ord indicated roughly 80,000 pounds of herbicide were used per year, mentioning 2,4,5-T specifically.
Fort Ord’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Closure Plan from 1995 shows that 1,000 pounds of 2,4,5-T was stored at Fort Ord.
An industrial vegetation management report from 1995 evaluated the effectiveness of 2,4,5-T in controlling poison oak.
The 1995 Record of Decision for Fritzsche Army Airfield on Fort Ord documented the dioxin in 2,4,5-T was found in in soils.
There is overwhelming evidence from veterans who have filed claims that they were sickened at Fort Ord from exposure to Agent Orange.
Here are four examples of how the VA responds to these veterans:
VA# A22005243 “While stationed at Fort Ord from September 1968 to December 1968, the veteran was detailed to spray Agent Orange for weed control and clear unwanted vegetation on the perimeter and all the ranges. He was suffering from lung cancer and prostate cancer. He indicated that herbicides were stored in warehouses located away from the barracks, in barrels marked with orange and purple stripes, and he never wore any protective gear while spraying.
VA Response: “The DoD provided a listing of locations outside Vietnam and the Korean DMZ where Agent Orange was used, tested, or stored, and DoD had not identified Fort Ord.” The claim was remanded, meaning the complainant was required to further develop his case.
VA# 1610636 “The Veteran has alleged service connection for diabetes mellitus based on exposure to toxic herbicides.” “Specifically, he was a member of Combat Developments Command Experimentation Command and was sprayed with Agent Orange during testing at Fort Ord.” VA Response: There is no documentation of spraying, testing, transporting, storage, or usage of Agent Orange at Fort Ord, California. He was denied compensation.
VA# 0802291 “The veteran maintains that he developed chronic lymphocytic leukemia due to exposure to herbicides/Agent Orange while serving stateside, particularly at Fort Ord in 1972.” VA Response: This allegation is unsubstantiated by any objective or corroborative probative evidence. Entitlement to service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is denied.”
VA# 1324404 The Veteran, suffering with Type II diabetes mellitus, testified that he was exposed to spraying of herbicides/Agent Orange while he was stationed at Fort Ord, California by being in the vicinity. VA Response: His claim for service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus was denied.
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To discover more like this: Google [ va.gov "citation nr:" "agent orange" Fort Ord ]. Substitute the name of the base, add words like “children” “Panama,” “leukemia,” etc.
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Dr. Alvin Young is the originator of the Pentagon’s fictitious distinction between “tactical” and “commercial” herbicides. Over the years, the VA has repeatedly cited Young’s work as justification to deny disability compensation to vets, likely in the billions of dollars.
In addition to denying compensation and the severity of Agent Orange and component exposure, Young verbally attacked and demeaned active-duty soldiers and veterans saying, “Many lessons can be learned from the history of the Agent Orange panic. One is that when a government offers presumptive compensation for diseases, many persons will show up to collect. Some will not even have any disease.”
ProPublica reported Dr. Young made public allegations that some vets were using Agent Orange “to seek public recognition for their sacrifices in Vietnam and to acquire financial compensation during economically depressed times.” Young wrote in a 2011 email, that some vets were simply “freeloaders,” making up ailments to “cash in” on the VA’s compensation system. He never offered evidence to back up his allegations.
Dr. Young staunchly defends the Pentagon's position, yet a critique of his 2009 book exposes flaws in his approach and work. In his role as government spokesman, Young claimed, “Confusion and misinformation are terms commonly used when discussing Agent Orange, the tactical herbicide used in the Vietnam War. This is the result of inaccurate news coverage and deliberate false misinformation that is purposely spread to deceive veterans and the public. Sensationalized reporting has frequently left the public with a distorted view of what occurred in Vietnam and of the minimal risks related to the use of herbicides in an operational combat environment.”
It is urgent to rectify this situation. Despite this history, the DOD does recognize certain cancers and other health problems as presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange during military service. Veterans and their survivors may be eligible for benefits for these diseases. A list of these diseases is located at this link.
Chronology of Developments regarding Agent Orange
1991 - Presumptive service connection established for veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. Veterans with certain diseases linked to Agent Orange no longer needed to prove direct exposure.
2019 - Presumptive exposure extended to veterans who served within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam’s coast.
2019 - VA Secretary Robert Wilkie ended the VA’s shared control over Agent Orange issues, giving sole authority to the DOD to determine veterans’ benefits. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment - Armed Forces Pest Management Control Board became solely responsible for establishing presumptive locations for Agent Orange exposure.
2022 - Presumptive locations expanded to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Guam, American Samoa, Johnston Atoll. Notably, Okinawa and the Panama Canal Zone were left off this list.
2024 - The DOD and the VA recognize 17 bases in 12 US states where tactical herbicides were used. Fort Ord was kept off the list. They also recognize that the DOD used tactical herbicides in Canada, India, and Korea.
October 19, 2024 - Dr. Kyle Horton of On Your Side Action writes to the Armed Forces Pest Management Board on behalf of thousands of Veterans, families, and civilians sickened by the contamination at the former Fort Ord. See the Letter to the AFPMB.
Dr. Horton included a detailed packet of evidence on the use of herbicides, including a description of the thousands of gallons of mixtures of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T used to control poison oak.
In the letter, she wrote, “It is our understanding that the review for updated locations is conducted annually. We respectfully request a response within 30 days as to when and where the review of Fort Ord will be conducted for consideration of adding Fort Ord to the presumptive herbicide list transmitted to VA.”
Dr. Horton also asked about the process for adding bases known to be contaminated. The letter was sent on behalf of 1,934 members of the Facebook Group, Cancer and Illness from Fort Ord, California
Below is the email sent to Dr. Horton by the Pentagon.
In its response, the Pentagon revealed its strategy of denial, despite the evidence Dr. Horton submitted. They wrote, “We have uncovered no evidence that suggests that tactical herbicides were tested, stored, or used at Fort Ord, California.”
We have clearly documented the use of large amounts of these deadly toxins at Fort Ord, along with the diseases and cancers of 1,700 who lived at Fort Ord. (allow the spreadsheet to upload.)
The Pentagon is engaged in misleading the public and betraying its soldiers. It is critical that the public become informed about these egregious policies and practices.
Depending on your response to our fundraising appeals, we intend to perform the following environmental tests at the former Fort Ord by the end of the year. These tests will cost a minimum of $10,000.
Home vapor monitor for multiple VOC’s
Additional VOC air exposure tests
Trichloroethylene vapor monitor
Perchloroethylene Vapor Monitor
Carbon Tetrachloride vapor monitor
Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene, Xylene air test kit
PFAS pin-prick blood testing
PFAS tap water and surface water testing
PFAS soil test kit
Dioxin in soil test kit
TCE, PCE, CT and other toxins in tap and stream water
U-238 Isotope Water Test kit
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Please donate. See our website, www.fortordcontamination.org for more information on the contamination on base.