US Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans face higher rates of rare nerve disease ALS than other vets, study finds

Air Force pilots and maintainers inspect an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Dylan McCrink Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans had higher ALS rates than Army veterans. Male officers had a 64% higher ALS rate than enlisted veterans, a study found. The study points to possible service-related exposures but does not identify them. Veterans who served in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, rates 15% to 29%…