Complete List of Recognized Gulf War Locations for Presumptive Conditions

This is a complete and updated list of Southwest Asia and Gulf War locations with presumptive conditions, to include those added by the PACT Act.

There are a lot of different regulations that cover “Gulf War” Veterans, and it can get really confusing.

Even the definition of what constitutes “Southwest Asia” service, encompasses many different locations and dates.

Here, we’re going to break it down, and make it clear what presumptive benefits you are entitled to, depending on when and where you served in the Persian Gulf.

It can get pretty complicated and confusing, so we’ve decided to broadly separate locations and service dates into three groups, which we’ve designated as Groups A, B and C below. So, make sure you’re looking at deployment dates, too, and not just the locations. And take note, some groups are eligible based on different laws.

Once you’ve figured out what group you belong to, you can scroll further down to find out which presumptive laws apply to your service. You can then click through for a complete list of presumptive disabilities associated with that law.

What locations and dates are considered qualifying service?

Broadly speaking, we can divide Veterans into three groups:

1. GROUP A: Those who served from August 2, 1990 to the present (locations that include the airspace above)
2. GROUP B: Those who served from August 2, 1990 to the present (locations that do not include the airspace above)
3. GROUP C: Those who served from September 11, 2001 to the present

GROUP A

Covers the following locations, including the airspace above them, for the period August 2, 1990 to the present:

• Iraq
• Kuwait
• Saudi Arabia
• the neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
• Bahrain
• Qatar
• the United Arab Emirates
• Oman
• the Gulf of Aden
• the Gulf of Oman
• the Persian Gulf
• the Arabian Sea
• the Red Sea
• Somalia

GROUP B

Includes the locations in Group A (including the airspace above them), then adds the locations listed below, but the locations listed below do NOT include the airspace above them. The locations below cover service from the period beginning August 2, 1990 to present:

• Afghanistan
• Egypt
• Israel
• Jordan
• Turkey
• Syria

GROUP C

Covers the following locations, including the airspace above them, for service from September 11, 2001 to the present:

• Afghanistan
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Syria
• Yemen
• Uzbekistan

What are the presumptive disabilities associated with each group?

There are different regulations affecting different kinds of claims. Below, you can find a list of all the different laws as well as which of the groups above qualify under those laws. You can click through to each one for more detailed information about each law:

Presumptive Diseases associated with exposure to burn pits and other toxins (BPOT) (38 USC 1119 and 38 USC 1120)

• Group A
• Group B (excluding Israel and Turkey; BUT includes airspace above group B)
• Group C

Undiagnosed illness and medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI) (38 CFR 3.317 and 38 USC 1117)

• Group A (excluding Somalia)
• Group B

Presumptive disabilities based on exposure to fine particulate matter (38 CFR 3.320)

• Group A (excluding Somalia)
• Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan on or after September 19, 2001

Infectious diseases (presumptive) (38 CFR 3.317)

• Group A (excluding Somalia)
• Afghanistan, on or after September 19, 2001

Rare respiratory cancers based on exposure to fine particulate matter (38 CFR 3.320)

• Group A (excluding Somalia)
• Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan on or after September 19, 2001

Click on each law to see a complete list of presumptive disabilities associated with each location group.

The locations are strictly considered. For example, service in the Gulf of Aden in Group A strictly refers to sea service and service in the air above the Gulf of Aden. Service in the Gulf of Aden does not equate to service in Djibouti and vice versa, even though they are geographically connected and some veterans interchange them. Service in Djibouti and the air space above it is considered separate and is under Group C.