CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — They are the invisible wounds from the War on Terror and Saturday, an event designed to raise money and awareness about the Burn Pits 360 Organization was held at the Shops of La Palmera.
Leroy Torres is a Gulf War veteran and is one of 3.5 million impacted by toxic exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. Torres says he was later diagnosed with toxic brain injury that forced his retirement from his job in law enforcement.
Torres is a cofounder of Burn Pits 360 and is teaming up with a group called 720 Interdiction Strategies. The company holds continuing education classes for police officers and has come up with a way to help Burn Pits 360 raise money.
"We have picked up momentum on a national level, but now we're just trying to backtrack and start to push it locally again. To bring awareness to those veterans or families that have been affected and the veterans in the Coastal Bend area," said Torres.
Mike Tamez with Nueces County Criminal Interdiction Unit says all the proceeds earned through an upcoming class will be donated to Burn Pits 360. They are also taking donations from the public to help fund scholarships for police officers that may want to take a drug interdiction course.
"It's an incredible feeling that we're going to be able to do this. I'm also a veteran, I was a Marine Corps veteran. I also deployed to Iraq, so I have seen some of the struggles that our veterans face when they return. And in my opinion there's just not enough out there fighting for these warriors that returned and need assistance," says Tamez.
If you would like to learn more about Burns Pits 360, you can visit them online at: Burn Pits 360