THE DISPATCH

Hello Torchlight Initiative subscribers, registrants, and supporters.  This periodic dispatch is intended to provide a status update concerning Air Force (AF) Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) community cancers and other diseases, illnesses and disorders.  We’ve made a lot of progress since the last dispatch and would like to share with you where we've been and where we're going.  While it’s been a while since you’ve heard from us, know that we’re taking action everyday to build awareness across the ICBM community, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD) and with our primary care managers. We will not let this progress slip away and we will not require the next generation to solve this problem for us.

What an extraordinary, heartbreaking, and rewarding adventure this has been.  The Torchlight Initiative began on 21 January 2023 shortly after the “Malmstrom Initiative'' briefing was leaked to the press by an unknown party.  While the Malmstrom Initiative focused on concerns about disproportionate non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) rates among Malmstrom Air Force Base (MAFB) Missileers, the Torchlight Initiative’s mission quickly pivoted to include the entire missile community. We strongly suspect lymphoma is not the only disease disproportionately impacting our members.  As such, we’ve expanded the scope of our data collection to include a broad spectrum of cancers and other diseases, illnesses and disorders potentially caused by toxic exposures in the missile field.  Throughout Torchlight’s evolution, we have and will continue to address health issues of vital interest to the entire Air Force ICBM community – specifically where higher diagnosis rates impact those that operated, maintained, supported, or protected ICBMs and associated equipment. 

There’s no room for incomplete knowledge or substandard performance when caring for the ICBM community.

Colonel (ret) Michael "Yammy" Yamzon recently retired from a 22 year USAF career as an ICBM operator and leader.  He served the USAF and ICBM communities as a Missile Combat Crew Commander, Instructor, Chief of Eval, Director of Operations for the 341 Operations Support Squadron, and Commander, 532d Training Squadron.  Yammy completed his ICBM career as the Chief of Defense Nuclear Inspection Oversight at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. 

Yammy served his country honorably for over two decades.  He was ready to stop moving, take off the uniform, and enjoy a second career as a civilian while spending more time with family, especially his three boys. Unfortunately a few months after retirement, he went to the doctor for the same symptoms he’d been experiencing for years.  His provider performed some common sense exploratory tests in response to his symptoms, and within a few short weeks, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, specifically mesothelioma.  Yammy immediately reached out to his missile community not just for support, but to encourage them to build their own awareness on environmental exposures to lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos and other toxic elements in our work environment.  We thank you Yammy for socializing what you’ve learned as well as your story. Know that your community stands with you during your treatments and wishes you all the best.  Click the link to watch a video narrative of Col (ret) Yamzon explaining this tough situation and how he fights with a smile.  Col (ret) Yamzon's Video Narrative