Joshua Barber
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Joshua Barber, a 31 year old young man from Ohio also suffers from AML after working as a law enforcement
contractor in Mosul, Iraq. Here is his story, in his own words.
"I grew up in Portsmouth Ohio, a small town on the Ohio River. I graduated in 1995 from Minford High School. In
1996 I joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was hurt early in training. I came back home and started all over. I found
Employment with the State of Ohio and immediately started college. I completed an AAS degree and later finished
a BS degree, both with honors.
Promotions soon began and I was a Case Manager and an Acting Institutional Inspector at a State Prison. I
wanted more and opportunity presented itself when a company called, Military Professional Resources Inc (with
contracts from the Department of Justice), from Alexandria VA contacted my employer asking for individuals that
would be interested in a one year commitment in Iraq as Trainers to Iraqi police, jailers, and prison guards. I
applied and was soon chosen to go through training in Washington DC. I arrived in Washington DC in August, I
believe, the 21st. I was sent to the Department of Justice where they discussed our mission and expectations.
Later, I was sent to a remote facility to get weapons familiarization. On August 28th, I was on my way to Baghdad,
Iraq. I arrived late at night in the green zone and reported to the U.S. Embassy where I received my ID and was
sent directly into the Red Zone to a hotel named the Al Sadeer Hotel. I lived in the Al Sadeer for approximately
three months - traveling daily to different jails or prisons through out Baghdad.
I was later sent to Abu Ghraib where my mission and position changed to an Advisor rather than a Trainer. No
raise in pay, just a change in the mission. At Abu Ghraib, the infamous prison, the army used large amounts of
pesticides because of the lack of public sewers, water treatment plants, etc... You can imagine the amount of
insects and disease. So, the army used pesticides and chemicals to clean our water for showers and our waste
water that was dumped in front of the FOB (forward operating base). Benzine is used in pesticides and is a
chemical that is found to initiate leukemia and or damage chromosomes.
After a 6 month tour at Abu Ghraib I was sent to Mosul as a promotion. I was now a Captain Advisor and did
receive a pay raise. In Mosul I traveled to several different police stations, jails, and prisons. The Ninevah Police
Station, which is a headquarters for police in the area, was used by the Army as a central command to advise and
regulate terrorism and other tasks.
While living in Mosul, I also had similar concerns to those I had at Abu Ghraib. I lived on the back side of FOB
Diamond Back. My trailer was located near the airport between the landing strip and the perimeter fence. Next to
my living quarters were a couple of large ponds used to dump waste water. Dumping was daily and so were
pesticides.
After several IEDS and close calls along with some difficulties back home with my girlfriend I made the decision to
come home and take care of my responsibilities. I came back home in late June, 2006. I decided to move to
Florida with my brother who is in the Air Force. I had not seen him in years and wanted to reconnect with him. I
obtained a job as a Healthcare Representative and started going back to school to obtain a Registered Nursing
Degree. I was in my second semester when all of this happened to me.
One Monday morning, I woke up with a small bump on the back of my head and a swollen lymph node. I went to
work and had an RN look at it and no one really knew what it might be besides a spider bite. The next day it tripled
in size and I became dizzy and tired. I went to ER Bay Medical Hospital in Panama City, Fl. They could not
diagnose me and sent me home to see a family physician. When I was in the ER my white blood count was around
44k.
I went to the family physician, Dr. Ismail Zabih, and he immediately thought it could be cancer because I had been
in Iraq. He said he had seen it before. I was sent to a radiation oncologist then to a Ear Nose & Throat (ENT)
physician. The ENT physician was going to do a biopsy on the lymph node. I went in for my pre-op assessment
and they took blood to see if I would be anemic. My white blood count was around 90k. When my physician &
another chemo oncologist looked at my lab results they diagnosed me with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. By the
time I was admitted into the hospital my white blood count had risen to 110k and peteke-i covered my skin."
Joshua is currently receiving treatment at The James Cancer Center at Ohio State University. The company he
worked for has denied the connection between his AML and his service in Iraq.
contractor in Mosul, Iraq. Here is his story, in his own words.
"I grew up in Portsmouth Ohio, a small town on the Ohio River. I graduated in 1995 from Minford High School. In
1996 I joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was hurt early in training. I came back home and started all over. I found
Employment with the State of Ohio and immediately started college. I completed an AAS degree and later finished
a BS degree, both with honors.
Promotions soon began and I was a Case Manager and an Acting Institutional Inspector at a State Prison. I
wanted more and opportunity presented itself when a company called, Military Professional Resources Inc (with
contracts from the Department of Justice), from Alexandria VA contacted my employer asking for individuals that
would be interested in a one year commitment in Iraq as Trainers to Iraqi police, jailers, and prison guards. I
applied and was soon chosen to go through training in Washington DC. I arrived in Washington DC in August, I
believe, the 21st. I was sent to the Department of Justice where they discussed our mission and expectations.
Later, I was sent to a remote facility to get weapons familiarization. On August 28th, I was on my way to Baghdad,
Iraq. I arrived late at night in the green zone and reported to the U.S. Embassy where I received my ID and was
sent directly into the Red Zone to a hotel named the Al Sadeer Hotel. I lived in the Al Sadeer for approximately
three months - traveling daily to different jails or prisons through out Baghdad.
I was later sent to Abu Ghraib where my mission and position changed to an Advisor rather than a Trainer. No
raise in pay, just a change in the mission. At Abu Ghraib, the infamous prison, the army used large amounts of
pesticides because of the lack of public sewers, water treatment plants, etc... You can imagine the amount of
insects and disease. So, the army used pesticides and chemicals to clean our water for showers and our waste
water that was dumped in front of the FOB (forward operating base). Benzine is used in pesticides and is a
chemical that is found to initiate leukemia and or damage chromosomes.
After a 6 month tour at Abu Ghraib I was sent to Mosul as a promotion. I was now a Captain Advisor and did
receive a pay raise. In Mosul I traveled to several different police stations, jails, and prisons. The Ninevah Police
Station, which is a headquarters for police in the area, was used by the Army as a central command to advise and
regulate terrorism and other tasks.
While living in Mosul, I also had similar concerns to those I had at Abu Ghraib. I lived on the back side of FOB
Diamond Back. My trailer was located near the airport between the landing strip and the perimeter fence. Next to
my living quarters were a couple of large ponds used to dump waste water. Dumping was daily and so were
pesticides.
After several IEDS and close calls along with some difficulties back home with my girlfriend I made the decision to
come home and take care of my responsibilities. I came back home in late June, 2006. I decided to move to
Florida with my brother who is in the Air Force. I had not seen him in years and wanted to reconnect with him. I
obtained a job as a Healthcare Representative and started going back to school to obtain a Registered Nursing
Degree. I was in my second semester when all of this happened to me.
One Monday morning, I woke up with a small bump on the back of my head and a swollen lymph node. I went to
work and had an RN look at it and no one really knew what it might be besides a spider bite. The next day it tripled
in size and I became dizzy and tired. I went to ER Bay Medical Hospital in Panama City, Fl. They could not
diagnose me and sent me home to see a family physician. When I was in the ER my white blood count was around
44k.
I went to the family physician, Dr. Ismail Zabih, and he immediately thought it could be cancer because I had been
in Iraq. He said he had seen it before. I was sent to a radiation oncologist then to a Ear Nose & Throat (ENT)
physician. The ENT physician was going to do a biopsy on the lymph node. I went in for my pre-op assessment
and they took blood to see if I would be anemic. My white blood count was around 90k. When my physician &
another chemo oncologist looked at my lab results they diagnosed me with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. By the
time I was admitted into the hospital my white blood count had risen to 110k and peteke-i covered my skin."
Joshua is currently receiving treatment at The James Cancer Center at Ohio State University. The company he
worked for has denied the connection between his AML and his service in Iraq.
