Karshi-Khanabad (K-2)
Karshi-Khanabad (K-2) is a former Soviet air base in Uzbekistan, near the Afghanistan border. The U.S. occupied K-2 from 2001-2005 to support Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In response to Veterans’ concerns about exposures at this base, VA is working with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to implement and manage a K-2 Surveillance Program to assess health outcomes from exposures. They are looking at morbidity and mortality among those who served at K-2 compared to those deployed to OEF, but not at K-2 and those who served during the OEF era, but not in Southwest Asia. Morbidity and mortality analyses will be conducted at periodic intervals over the next 10 years, with initial analyses of morbidity planned in the summer of 2022 and mortality in the summer of 2023.
