LITHIA, Fla. — It has been 15 years since U.S. Army Sgt. Nicole Leger deployed to Afghanistan. 

What You Need To Know

  • Named in honor of Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, a decorated combat medic who died from a rare form of lung cancer, the PACT Act delivers benefits and services to veterans who have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving

  • Since enactment of the PACT Act, VA has delivered new PACT Act related disability benefits to more than 1 million veterans and over 10,000 survivors of veterans who died of a toxic related illness

  • Nearly 5.7 million veterans have received free screenings for toxic exposures from VA under the PACT Act – a critical step in catching and treating potentially life-threatening health conditions as early as possible

She trained as a medic there, but like many soldiers, she took shifts a few times a week manning burn pits. 

“A couple of times a week we would have burn pit duty. At 18, 19, you really don’t think about it. You just kind of do what the mission you’re supposed to be doing. So a lot of classified information that we had, that’s how we disposed of it,” said Leger. 

She admits she thought nothing of it at the time, even enjoyed the work. But when she returned home, she started getting sick. 

“I started dealing with migraines, sinus infections, just having a hard time. Sleeping nightmares, just joint pain everywhere, skin and hair conditions and really went through probably a good year or two struggling and was just at my worst moments probably,” said Leger. 

Her mother encouraged her to get help after some years of struggling. Leger turned to the VA.

“I remember that first, a point where the provider just really gave me some hope, hope that things would get a little bit better,” said Leger. 

She now receives benefits from the PACT Act, after she pushed for toxic exposure screenings. 

Nationwide, the over 5.7 million veterans have been screened for toxic exposure, with over 333,000 toxic-exposed veterans enrolled in VA health care. 

Wednesday, the VA Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher spoke at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in Bay Pines.

“We have processed over 1.5 million claims,” said Bradsher. “We have now brought in 740,000 veterans to our health care system in the last two years. That’s to PACT Act. We are so proud of the outreach events that we continue to do. However, we still want veterans who have not applied for their benefits to please do so.”

For Leger, who also works for the VA now as an RN, she is glad she reached out and knows her health and life are better for it. 

“The door’s open,” said Leger. “There’s a lot of resources. So even if you don’t know where to start, you know you can call any of the VA numbers and anyone is going to help you direct to where you need to go.”

She hopes her messages help other veterans out there who have not been screened. 

Presient Joe Biden also released a statement on the second anniversary of the PACT Act. He said, “While we have made great strides in addressing military related toxic exposures, we still have work to do. My administration continues to study other illnesses for presumptive status and to sign up more veterans for health care.”

To learn more about the PACT Act and the benefits connected, go to the PACT Act Performance Dashboard.