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James J. Tuite III

James Joseph Tuite (born July 18, 1949) is a former Senate and private sector researcher who investigated the origins and causes of illnesses among veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Education

Tuite was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 18, 1949. He attended Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland and American University in Washington, DC where he received a B.S. degree in the Administration of Justice. He also received and M.A. degree from Georgetown University in National Security Studies and was all but disserted in a World Politics Ph.D. program at Catholic University where his studies were interrupted to work for the U.S. Senate on an investigation relating to the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Military service (1967-1970)

Tuite enlisted in the United States Army in 1967. He served for three years, including an extended tour of duty (1968-1970) as a DUSTOFF medic in Vietnam with the Air Ambulance Platoon, 326th Medical Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Eagle DUSTOFF). He earned numerous military honors including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Stars for Valor and Meritorious Service, 2 Army Commendation Medals, 13 Air Medals, Combat Medical Badge, Good Conduct Medal, and Army Aviation Wings. Tuite was the 101st Airborne Division's Soldier of the Month in April 1969. In 2024, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to DUSTOFF crew members serving in Vietnam from 1962-1973.

Career with the United States Secret Service (1974-1992)

In 1972, Tuite joined the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department as an officer and transferred to the Executive Protective Service (U.S. Secret Service) in 1974, He was appointed as a Special Agent in 1976 and assigned to the Syracuse Field Office and later to the New York Field Office. In 1983 Tuite was transferred to the Presidential Protective Division and in 1984 he transferred to the Secret Serve Intelligence Division, From 1988-1992 he was assigned to the Forensic Services Division as the Secret Service’s Forensic Science Research Coordinator Over the course of his carer Tuite received 6 U.S. Treasure Achievement Awards and a Gold Badge Award for Valor from the New York State Chiefs of Police Association. He retired from the United States Secret Service in 1992.

United States Senate (1993-1995)

In 1993, Tuite began a Congressional Fellowship in the Office of United States Senator Donald W. Riegle. Later that year, he was hired as a member of the professional staff of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs as the National Security and Dual-Use Technology Advisor to the Committee Chairman (Riegle) and remained in this position until 1995 after Senator Riegle decided not to run for re-election. This work led to the publication of several senate documents

Gulf War Related Illnesses

During this period, at the request of the committee chair, Tuite began an investigation into the potential causes of Gulf War-related Illnesses or Gulf War Syndrome as well as the U.S. role in providing dual-use weapons of mass destruction precursor materials to Iraq prior to the 1991 Persian Gulf War. See United States Dual-Use Exports to Iraq and Their Impact on the Health of the Persian Gulf Veterans - US Senate Report 103-900. He continued his investigation into this issue and working on legislation to care for veterans suffering from a variety of illness after leaving his Senate position in 1995.,.

In 1998, this investigation was portrayed in a Showtime movie titled "Thanks of a Grateful Nation." In this film, Tuite was portrayed by actor Ted Danson and Senator Riegle was portrayed by actor [[Brian Dennehy|Brian Dennehy]]]

United States Senate (2007-2010)

In 2007, Tuite returned to the US Senate as the National Security Policy Advisor to the President pro tempore, United States Senator Robert C. Byrd and travelled to both Iraq and Afghanistan on several occasions on Senator Byrd's behalf. He left the United States Senate position in 2010 after the death of Senator Robert C. Byrd.

Casevac (DUSTOFF) in Afghanistan

On a visit to Afghanistan in 2008, Tuite met with Major General Robert W. Cone, then Commander of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan. Knowing of Tuite's background as a DUSTOFF medic in Vietnam and his work on Gulf War-related Illnesses, MG Cone requested that Tuite look into the response times for Casevac the contemporary designation for DUSTOFF missions in Afghanistan. Cone's concern was that it was taking nearly 2 hours to reach battlefield casualties. During the Vietnam War, the response times were much faster. Tuite took these concerns back to Senator Byrd and working with the United States Department of Defense, logistic changes (forward deployment of assets and utilization of US Air Force assets) were made which reduced response times to around 40 minutes (comparable with the response times during the Vietnam conflict). In 2009, Tuite returned to Afghanistan and confirmed the changes.

Media

Tuite has appeared on a number of documentary programs including Frontline: The Gulf War: Debating Gulf War Syndrome, PBS (1996) CBS Reports: The Gulf War plus Five, CBS (1996) Horizon: The Gulf War Jigsaw, BBC (1998)

In addition, he has appeared in documentaries and provided expert commentary on chemical warfare and terorism on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CSPAN, CNN, BBC, RAI, PBS, MSNBC, NPR, and PRI.