In parting act, Trump issues executive order to study troops' toxic exposure at Uzbek air base

In one of his final acts before leaving the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to study toxic exposure and resulting health effects for military personnel who were stationed at an air base in Uzbekistan.

The Jan. 19 order compels investigations into toxic substances at Karshi-Khanabad air base, and also orders epidemiological studies of troops who got sick after serving there. Additionally, the order directs the Secretary of Defense to assess the link between exposure and illness.

The order sets in motion key studies that could help to establish presumptive findings of illness connected to service at the base. In veterans' parlance, presumptive findings eliminate up to years' worth of red tape as they try to establish how they got sick from serving in a particular location. The cause-and-effect nexus is key to unlocking certain types of benefits.

The one-square mile-military site in Uzbekistan originally was a Soviet and Uzbek base near the border of Tajikistan. From 2001-2005 it was used as a staging ground for American forces supporting the war in Afghanistan. The Karshi-Khanabad base, known as K2, dispatched air drops and airstrikes, and launched medical evacuations to retrieve wounded troops. 

Also known as Camp Stronghold Freedom, K2 was used by the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps. 

Uzbek troops reported getting sick while working at the base before U.S. forces arrived. When Americans deployed there in 2001, the service members reported "black goo" bubbling up through the ground, along with a persistent bad smell, gaseous plumes, and other environmental concerns.

Afterwards, when many who were stationed at K2 became sick with cancer, the informal network of servicemembers and veterans traced their health problems to service at the old Soviet base.