The extensive medical interview for the C&P Gulf War Medical examination will cover the Veteran’s pre-service, during service, and post-service history. It will be helpful to set parameters for taking the Veteran’s history. For example, start by talking about the context of the interview and explain that you will be following the documentation protocol. Also explain that you will go on to another question once you have sufficient information.

Ask open-ended questions such as, “Do you know why you are here?”

You may want to ask the Veteran for information about the job (MOS details) that he or she performed while deployed, as there may be exposure risks that pertain to the job.

Although the Veteran may use terms such as “Gulf War Illness” or “Gulf War Syndrome” you should avoid these terms when you report on this interview in the examination report, as VA does not recognize these terms. You’ll be gathering information about symptoms and conditions that fall into the four disability patterns or categories for the Gulf War General Medical examination.

You will need to ask the Veteran about potential exposures to environmental hazards, so we’ll discuss exposures in some detail in the following pages.