FAQs About the OCSLA

Offshore oil workers and other outer continental shelf (OCS) workers have some of the highest injury rates of any workers in America. The work is dangerous, mostly because of the risk of petrochemical and other explosions. Furthermore, most offshore energy exploration and other such facilities offer limited onsite medical services and no onsite emergency medical transportation services. The treatment delay …

Japan and China to Discuss Security Issues in 2025

Leaders of the two traditional East Asia rivals will meet to discuss a number of security and other pressing issues sometime in 2025. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, on his first trip to China since assuming the post in October, sounded positive after meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying the talks were “very candid” …

American PMCs Are On the Way to Ukraine

Shortly before the November election, U.S. President Joe Biden quietly authorized the DoD to send maintenance contractors to the war-torn country. The decision was made before Tuesday’s election as a way to provide Ukraine with specific technical expertise needed for weapons like F-16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems, said the official, who was granted anonymity to speak about …

Violence Continues After Shakeup in Syria

In December 2024, Assad loyalists ambushed a team of law enforcement officers in western Syria. At least 14 people died. The attack in the countryside of the Tartus region also injured 10 officers, according to the ministry. It came hours after the new government’s military operations command said its forces killed “a besieged group of remnants of the former regime” …

VA Continues Burn Pit Research

Researchers at the Veterans Administration acknowledge that burn pit smoke could cause DRLD, but they insist that other causes are just as common. VA established the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence (AHBPCE) in 2019 at VA’s War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) in New Jersey. Environmental health specialists, epidemiologists, and other experts from the Center …