Marine veteran wins battle for burn pit-related medical retirement – Marine Corps Times

Report on the Posthumous Awarding of Medical Retirement to Sgt. Kevin Lloyd and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Executive Summary

This report details the case of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Sergeant Kevin Lloyd, who was posthumously awarded a medical retirement by the Board for Correction of Naval Records. This decision, following a significant advocacy campaign, secures crucial benefits for his surviving children. The case highlights critical intersections between veteran healthcare, institutional justice, and several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

2.0 Case Background and Health Crisis

2.1 Service History and Medical Diagnosis

• Military Service: Sergeant Kevin Lloyd served with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, completing three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Initial Discharge: In 2015, he was medically discharged with an 80% disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for service-connected conditions, including migraines and abdominal pain.
• Cancer Diagnosis: In 2023, Sgt. Lloyd was diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer. The VA recognizes this type of cancer as being presumptively related to toxic exposure from burn pits used in overseas military operations.

2.2 Connection to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

Sgt. Lloyd’s case underscores the long-term health consequences of environmental hazards in conflict zones, a direct challenge to ensuring healthy lives and well-being (SDG 3). The initial misdiagnosis and subsequent battle for advanced cancer treatments illustrate systemic gaps in providing comprehensive and timely healthcare for veterans exposed to toxins. The advocacy for access to specific chemotherapy drugs and clinical trials was a fight to uphold his right to the highest attainable standard of health.

3.0 Campaign for Justice and Institutional Accountability

3.1 The Objective: Securing Survivor Benefits

The primary goal of the campaign, led by Sgt. Lloyd’s ex-wife, Alicia Rose Urban, was to change his discharge status from a medical discharge to a medical retirement. This administrative change was critical for ensuring his dependents received benefits from the Department of Defense, thereby promoting social and economic security.

1. VA Benefits: Provide support to survivors of veterans who die from service-connected conditions.
2. Medical Retirement Benefits: Provide a more comprehensive package, including:
   • Monthly compensation
   • Medical coverage under the Tricare health program
   • Access to military installations and services (e.g., commissary)

3.2 Advocacy and Intervention

The campaign utilized a multi-pronged approach to achieve its objectives:

• Public Awareness: A widespread social media campaign on platforms like TikTok and Facebook was launched to highlight delays in medical treatment and pressure institutions for a response.
• Political Lobbying: Direct appeals were made to Congress, which resulted in the intervention of Senator Ted Cruz’s office.
• Institutional Petition: A formal petition was made to the Board for Correction of Naval Records.

4.0 Outcomes and Implications for Sustainable Development

4.1 Decision and Immediate Impact

On the day after Sgt. Lloyd’s death, the Board for Correction of Naval Records approved the change to medical retirement. Navy Secretary John Phelan announced that Sgt. Lloyd was eligible for retirement benefits and Combat-Related Special Compensation. This decision directly addresses the financial and healthcare precarity faced by his three sons.

4.2 Alignment with Key SDGs

• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): The successful petition demonstrates a functional, albeit delayed, mechanism for justice. The Board’s decision represents an accountable institution correcting a record to ensure a just outcome for a veteran’s family. The PACT Act of 2022 is a broader legislative example of institutions evolving to address systemic issues related to veteran health.
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): By securing comprehensive benefits, the decision reduces the inequality of outcome for Sgt. Lloyd’s children. It ensures they have access to healthcare (Tricare) and financial support, preventing them from falling into a vulnerable category due to the loss of their father from a service-connected illness.
• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The outcome guarantees long-term access to healthcare for the dependents, promoting their well-being. Furthermore, the case brings public attention to the health impacts of unsustainable waste management practices (burn pits) during military operations, advocating for safer environmental protocols to protect service members’ health in the future.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article highlights several issues that connect directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary SDGs addressed are:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The entire article revolves around the health crisis of Marine Sgt. Kevin Lloyd, his battle with colorectal cancer linked to environmental exposure (burn pits), his struggle to access advanced medical treatments, and the financial burden of healthcare.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The article details the fight of a specific vulnerable group—a veteran with a service-connected illness and his family—to secure rights and benefits that they were entitled to but initially denied. This struggle against systemic barriers to ensure equal access to benefits and justice is a core theme of SDG 10.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Sgt. Lloyd’s case illustrates a battle with large institutions (Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of the Navy) to correct a misdiagnosis and change his discharge status. The need for a massive social media campaign and intervention from a U.S. Senator to achieve a just outcome points to challenges in the effectiveness, accountability, and accessibility of these institutions.
• SDG 1: No Poverty: The fight for medical retirement benefits is fundamentally about establishing a social protection system for Sgt. Lloyd’s surviving children. These benefits, including “monthly compensation” and “medical coverage,” are designed to prevent the family from falling into poverty or financial hardship after the veteran’s death.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s narrative, the following specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
   • Explanation: The article explicitly mentions the struggle to get the VA to approve and pay for a specific treatment. His ex-wife stated, “Because the VA has declined to pay for the $30,000 treatment he needs, he will die.” This directly relates to financial risk protection and access to affordable, essential medicines. The family’s effort to transfer him to the MD Anderson Cancer Center for “advanced medical treatments” also highlights the pursuit of quality essential healthcare services.
2. Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
   • Explanation: Sgt. Lloyd’s colorectal cancer is directly linked to environmental pollution. The article states the disease is “related to exposure to burn pits used overseas… to dispose of garbage and waste” and that “Exposure to the toxic smoke generated by the pits has been linked to a variety of cancers and illnesses.” His death is a direct example of a mortality case resulting from exposure to hazardous pollution.
3. Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
   • Explanation: The initial misdiagnosis and the discharge status prevented Sgt. Lloyd’s family from receiving full benefits. The fight to change his “medical discharge… to retirement” was a fight to correct a policy outcome that created inequality for his family compared to others whose service-connected illnesses were correctly classified. The passage of the PACT Act in 2022, mentioned in the article, is an example of “appropriate legislation” designed to reduce such inequalities for veterans exposed to burn pits.
4. Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
   • Explanation: The family had to resort to a “vast social media campaign,” lobbying Congress, and securing the intervention of Senator Ted Cruz to get the Board for Correction of Naval Records to change the discharge status. This indicates that the standard institutional processes were not effective or accountable enough to resolve the issue in a timely and just manner on their own. The article shows a lack of institutional responsiveness until external pressure was applied.
5. Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all… and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
   • Explanation: The goal of changing the discharge to “medical retirement” was to ensure the Defense Department would provide benefits to his survivors. These benefits—”monthly compensation, medical coverage under the Tricare health program and access to military installations”—constitute a social protection system for the veteran’s vulnerable children, ensuring their financial and medical well-being.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article contains several pieces of information that can serve as qualitative or quantitative indicators for measuring progress:

• Indicator for Target 3.8 (Universal Health Coverage): The article mentions the specific cost of a denied treatment: “$30,000.” This implies an indicator related to the proportion of the population facing catastrophic health spending. The delay in the VA’s approval for the medication serves as a qualitative indicator of barriers to accessing essential medicines.
• Indicator for Target 3.9 (Deaths from pollution): The article identifies a specific illness (colorectal cancer) and its cause (exposure to toxic smoke from burn pits). This suggests an indicator such as the mortality rate attributed to specific environmental pollution sources (e.g., number of veteran deaths per year linked to burn pit exposure).
• Indicator for Target 10.3 (Equal opportunity): The successful change of Sgt. Lloyd’s discharge status is a specific outcome. Progress could be measured by the number of veterans’ discharge statuses successfully reviewed and corrected for service-connected illnesses. The mention of the PACT Act implies another indicator: the number of veterans who are successfully granted expedited disability pay and benefits under the Act.
• Indicator for Target 16.6 (Effective institutions): The need for a social media campaign and congressional intervention implies an indicator for institutional inefficiency. Progress could be measured by a reduction in the average time taken to process and approve veteran benefit claims and appeals, or a decrease in the number of cases requiring external (political or media) intervention for resolution.
• Indicator for Target 1.3 (Social protection systems): The article specifies the beneficiaries (three surviving sons) and the benefits (Tricare, monthly compensation). This points to an indicator measuring the proportion of veterans’ dependents covered by social protection programs like Tricare and survivor benefits.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: marinecorpstimes.com