First Public Hearings of the Presidential Special Oversight Board for DoD Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents

The Presidential Special Oversight Board for the Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents will conduct their first public hearings from9 a.m. (EST) to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 and 20, in the Senate Hart Office Building, Room SH-216. The hearings will be open to the media.

Bernard Rostker, special assistant to the deputy secretary of Defense for Gulf War Illnesses, will testify before the seven-member board from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 19. He will be followed by Rear Adm. Michael Cowan, the Joint Staff deputy director for Medical Readiness, who will testify from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

On 20 Nov., Army Maj. Gen. Robert G. Claypool, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Health Operations Policy, and John Mazzuchi, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Clinical and Program Policy, will testify from 9:05 a.m. to 9:35 a.m. Claypool and Mazzuchi, along with Rostker and Cowan, will testify from 9:35 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on 20 Nov.

For more information on the presentations by the Department of Defense, contact Joe Gordon at (703) 697-5134. Questions on the Special Oversight Board or other presentations at the hearings should be addressed to Roger Kaplan, Special Oversight Board deputy executive director, at (703) 696-9470.