Pentagon disburses Havana Syndrome compensation, rebrands team focused on ‘Directed Energy Bio-Effects’
The Defense Department has paid out millions of dollars to personnel affected by so-called Havana Syndrome and renamed a key cross-functional team as the Directed Energy Bio-Effects CFT to investigate associated issues, the Pentagon announced Friday.
According to a press release, the disbursements were the first payments associated with the 2021 HAVANA Act made under any presidential administration. The release did not say how many individuals have received compensation thus far.
The term “Havana Syndrome” emerged after U.S. government personnel and their family members began reporting mysterious, often debilitating symptoms including intense ear pain, vertigo, headaches, dizziness, hearing and memory loss, visual disturbances and more in 2016. The first incidents were reported by officials who were stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, hence the origin of the name.
Some experts and lawmakers have suggested that these health problems resulted from secretive attacks by a foreign power that used directed energy systems, also known as “non-kinetic” capabilities, targeted at American officials overseas.
Following a congressional directive, the Pentagon set up a cross-functional team focused on addressing issues associated with these “anomalous health incidents” (AHI). The team first fell under the purview of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, but earlier this year the department announced that it had been put under the Research and Engineering directorate, with a focus on treatments and countermeasures.
Last year, the Pentagon announced that it had started reviewing applications for one-time payments from personnel seeking financial compensation for brain health issues associated with the phenomenon.
“The Department is fully meeting Congressional intent regarding non-kinetic threats by applying a more dedicated warfighter and medical focus to this mission and expanding collaboration with interagency partners to coordinate vital research efforts. The Department is prioritizing the care of affected personnel and has disbursed nearly $3 million in compensation, representing the first HAVANA Act payments made under any presidential administration,” officials wrote in a July 10 press release.
Amid the rebranding of the AHI cross-functional team as the Directed Energy Bio-Effect CFT, the group “continues to facilitate the multifaceted implementation of enduring processes, procedures, and capabilities,” per the release.
The new name suggests that the Pentagon will be focusing heavily on directed energy devices as a potential cause of health problems.
“The Department of War’s commitment to mitigating non-kinetic threats remains absolute,” officials wrote in the press release, using the Trump administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense.
