Burnpits 360

During the OEF and OIF wars, government contractors burned up to 227 metric tons of hazardous waste at forward operating bases using jet fuel in large ground pits. Items burned included: batteries, medical waste, amputated body parts, plastics, ammunition, human waste, animal carcasses, rubber, chemicals, & more. Exposure to these toxins, have caused a traumatic impact on the lives of our service members and their families. Some of the devastating health conditions suffered by Veterans exposed include: neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases, rare forms of cancer, and many unexplained symptoms. There have been thousands of deaths resulting from the invisible wounds of war.

Burn Pits 360 was founded in honor of Army Captain Le Roy Torres, who served in the U.S. Army for 23 years (7 years – Active, 16 Years – Reserve). He deployed to Balad, Iraq from 2007-2008. Captain Torres also served the State of Texas as a State Trooper for 14 years. Torres suffers from complications from illnesses that began after he was exposed to toxic fumes during service in post-9/11 Iraq. Le Roy was subsequently diagnosed with Constrictive Bronchiolitis and Toxic Brain Injury. After experiencing delay, denial of benefits, and ineffective treatment from his physicians, Le Roy alongside his wife, Rosie, founded Burn Pits 360.

Burn Pits 360 seeks to ensure that no other service member or Veteran suffers his fate and to ensure that we would make the invisible visible. One of the greatest disservices to those who served is to become invisible.” Over the years, Rosie and Le Roy established an independent Veterans exposure registry where thousands of war heroes and their families reported the same suffering and denial of health care and benefits. Le Roy and Rosie combined bring over 40 years of experience working with Veterans and active duty service members and families. Rosie worked for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for 23 years. Together they co-founded Burn Pits 360.

2009 – Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act, (HR 2419) introduced by Bishop and Shea Porter.

2010 – Burn Pits 360 establishes independent registry

2013 – President Obama signs national burn pit registry into law.

2017 – Burn Pits 360 hosts the 1st annual Burn Pit Congressional Hearing

2018  – Burn Pit Hearing, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Health

2019 – Burn Pits 360 hosts the 2nd Annual Burn Pit Registry in Washington
–  Gov. Abbott signs HB 306 Texas Open Burn Pit Registry Act

2020 –  MTEC Virtual Conference with Grunt Style

2021 – Press Conference in D.C. – Warfighter Presumptive Bill

Burn Pits 360 is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to offer an independent burn pit exposure registry in which family members can record the names of warriors who served the nation but have passed away due to illnesses from toxic injury. We are entirely dedicated to improving post-deployment health outcomes for current and former military personnel, especially those who are suffering from emerging, complicated, or unexplained post-deployment health concerns arising from service in our post-9/11 wars and previous conflicts.

These invisible wounds of war include poorly understood injuries to the respiratory, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems, chronic pain, and certain rare cancers, as well as Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and Toxic Brain Injury. Veterans face increasingly complex and debilitating health problems that have already left a growing number disabled, unable to work or deceased, and neither existing health clinics nor the Veterans Benefits Administration are adequately responsive to this growing crisis, despite clear association of wartime exposures with illness and injuries. In January of 2013 President Obama signed our burn pit registry bill into law. In 2017 & 2019 Burn Pits 360 hosted a Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C.. This year we launched a pilot Advocacy Program to deploy trained supporters to make change at the state and local level. In Texas, our Warrior Support Center stands as a place of refuge for Veterans with toxic war injuries and serves as our national headquarters.

We built an alliance with health experts, researchers, scientists, legal experts and doctors specializing in deployment related exposure to bring forth the newest data and recommendations regarding the effects of toxic exposure. For nearly a decade, we have been blessed with the committed volunteerism of war heroes and family members who lost loved ones to toxins of burn pit plumes, and their generous outpouring of effort driven by grief, to fulfill our unique mission of advocacy based on evidence.