While the settlement can never restore the hearing loss suffered by the plaintiffs, it is a victory for the veterans who had the tenacity to file the suit.
The announcement reverses a more permissive stance by then-President Donald Trump, and it concludes a review that has lasted for more than a year. Bonnie Jenkins, the State Department’s undersecretary for arms control and international security, said the new policy fulfills “a commitment that President Biden made as a candidate,” when he described Trump’s decision as “reckless.”