[back]
An Interview with Staff Sergeant Randi Allaire in the Air Force National Guard
http://www.healthsentinel.com/files/interviews/WordFile/AnthraxVaccineInterview.doc
The following interview was conducted by Roman Bystrianyk on November 20, 2002 with follow-up email questions in October 2003 in regards to Randi Allaire’s experience with the anthrax vaccine during her service in the military in 1999 to the present.
Randi was an Information Management Specialist in the military for almost four years. Three and one-half years were spent with the Air National Guard as Information Management, the previous five and half was with the Army Guard as a Flight Operations Specialist.
As part of the military’s program to protect their troops from chemical and biological weapons, Randi was required to take the anthrax vaccine. On March 14, 1999 she was given her fourth anthrax vaccine. She believes because of that shot she has suffered chronic fatigue, memory lapses, migraines, pain in the forearms, and other aches and pains. She was thrown out of the military because she refused to take the fifth anthrax vaccine shot in fear for her own personal health.
Please share your experience of what happened to you.
I took a total of four of the anthrax vaccine shots, beginning in September of 1998. During shots one through three (September – October), our base was preparing for an Operational Readiness Inspection. I put in a lot of over time hours. There were things that were going on during that time, basically fatigue, headaches and moodiness, but I associated that with the stress that was going along with the inspection preparedness, and I think a lot of it might have been, so I don’t attribute anything to shots one through three because there were outside factors going on at that time. On my forth shot that I received, March, 1999, I didn’t have any outside factors that were going on outside of the norm, so the reactions that I had I could and did attribute to the shot.
I took the fourth shot on March 14, 1999. I noticed after I took the shot I had the main reaction always talked about - the nodule and a burning sensation. For the rest of the day I felt a little discombobulated. I typically had this kind of a reaction after any shot, so I took that to be normal, and I just didn’t pay any attention to it.
The day after I took my shot, it was a Tuesday; I was doing a funeral as a member with the Honor Guard. When we trained with the Honor Guard we stood up for long periods of time because of some of the functions that we did, require us to be on our feet for long periods of time. About 20 minutes to one-half hour into the funeral as I was standing there I felt like I was going to pass out. That was not normal, but I kept on telling myself mentally to hang in there and that it was almost over. I ended up making it through. The funeral was inside a church, and when the funeral was over, I went outside and I remember stripping down everything but the bare essentials because I was sweating so bad and felt like I was on fire. I ended up being driven home from the funeral, where I promptly went to sleep.
The following day I was supposed to go into work, and I couldn’t get out of bed. I was extremely fatigued. This went on for a week where I stayed in bed all day, all night, with the exception of getting up to get something to eat or drink. I was basically bed ridden.
Why would you say you were bed ridden for the week?
I was so tired. I just felt like everything was drained out of me. I had absolutely no energy. All I wanted to do or could do was sleep.
So you slept most of the time?
Yes.
I got the 4th shot in March of 1999. Between March and May, at this time I was a technician out at our base, I missed 180 hours of work. I did not have enough sick leave to cover my absences, so some sick leave was to be advanced. I was either sick the entire day or I would go into work and I would have to leave to go home from fatigue, migraines, or joint pain.
When you say you were sick, what type of symptoms were you having?
I was fatigued. I had vertigo. At home, I would be down stairs and would have to climb up my stairs. By the time I got to the top of the stairs I would have to stop and lean up against the wall because I was so winded. I couldn’t breathe. Shortness of breath was another thing that was bad. A military physician suggested that I just needed to exercise. At that point there was nothing I could do because I didn’t have any stamina or any wind. If I tried to do something, even little things like short walks, it would knock me out for a day, and I would have to sleep the next day to recover.
At my job I had a lot of typing that I had to do - I was a secretary. So whenever I started to do too much, my forearms started to feel like they were on fire, and sometimes it felt like somebody was taking prickers and pricking them up and down my forearms. I dealt with sensitive information in my position, social security numbers, orders, etc. I began to notice that if I was doing something and someone interrupted me, whatever it was I was doing before hand, just completely got forgotten about and I went on to doing whatever I was going to do next or whatever it was that someone asked me to do, which resulted in a lot of personal information laying out where it shouldn’t have been. I felt like my competency level dropped down quite drastically.
Would you say before your fourth shot you were in pretty good shape and you could do all of that?
Absolutely. I took the PT [Physical Training] test for the Air force. We had to do a mile and half run. Before the shots, I completed the time in 14 minutes and 12 seconds. After the shot and after I left the 110th Fighter Wing, I started working at a civilian job with troubled kids. It was like a military run boot camp and I was a drill instructor. We had to take an Army PT test, which was a 2-mile run and it took me almost 29 minutes.
During that test were you too tired to run it very fast?
What was happening when I was running, I call them gray-outs, I don’t know if that’s right or not – as I was running and the things that were there in front or around me were taking on a gray kind of color and started turning fuzzy. Again, I felt like I was going to pass out. I really had to slow myself down, from an already slow pace. At this time, this was something I had to hide, because doing the position, that I was doing, there was no way I could let my employer know everything that was going on with me obviously because I was working with troubled kids and needed to portray myself as being healthy, and not someone that was sick. If I couldn’t keep up physically or mentally, what would happen to my job? So, I also had to hide the physical impairments, and the memory lapses to the best of my ability.
With having to work with the troubled teens, which also meant being responsible for their medication and well-being, I ultimately decided it was in the kid’s best interest that I left that job. I really loved these kids, and I loved what I was doing for them, but, when I began leaving out prescription medications, which were supposed to be under lock and key, I felt my job supervising them would compromise their well being, because we did have some kids who came to us hooked on some narcotic or another.
How long was this after your fourth anthrax vaccine shot?
This was 2 years later, in 2001-2002.
What kind of military medical treatment did you receive?
Back in the beginning, March of 1999, myself and the group of 11 others were only trying to get medical attention. Because we were a guard base, we didn’t have a medical facility on our base with full time support staff. Our command ended up having to send us to Wright Patterson AFB (Air Force Base), which is in Ohio, that’s an active duty base. They sent us to Ohio and it was a one-day trip. At this time the program had just started, and my group was the first people out of a base of approximately 1,200 soldiers, to receive the vaccine. The doctor at Wright Patterson, looked at me for about 20 minutes. There was no type of test done aside from looking in your ears, eyes, and throat. He ended up pulling out the leaflet from the anthrax vial to see what kind of reactions that he was suppose to be looking for. The leaflet has since been updated, but at that time it was chills, fever, and malaise. My symptoms fit that, however, I also had more. I was told that my reactions were not from the vaccine and that I had the flu or stress and was to carry on with the series.
So he wanted you to continue with the fifth anthrax vaccine shot?
Right.
Did you have any comment to the doctor at that time?
Not really because I didn’t know that much about the vaccine at that time myself. I didn’t really begin reading up on the research until later.
It was in the beginning of April of 1999 that we went to go see the doctor at Wright Patterson AFB. After my experience in Wright Patterson, I began reading on the Internet about the vaccine. I came into contact with Dr. Meryl Nass, who put me in touch with the United States House of Representatives Government Reform Committee [This hearing transcript is available at www.CTVIA.org] who were conducting hearings on the safety of the Anthrax Vaccine. The committee was looking for those that had reactions, and I was one out of three at our base that was invited to go and testify to the committee, on April 14, 1999. My Congressional testimony stirred up a lot of problems with our chain of command at our base. I virtually made myself an open target, because I had blown open what was happening with myself and my group at our base, which was that we were sick, something was happening, nobody was doing anything, we were getting blown off and we weren’t being taken seriously. By the time I got back from testifying, word had made it up to the Air Force Surgeon General, General Roadman. He caught wind of my testimony and ended up sending down a special team to apparently investigate our cluster to find out why it was that we were all sick. There was one doctor that I saw, LTC (Lieutenant Colonel) Thompson. He did not examine me. He glanced at the top sheet of the civilian medical records that I put in front of him, which was about 2 inches thick, and continued talking. I walked out of there with my medical records in hand… he never looked at them. He did nothing.
So there were no blood tests or cultures or anything?
There was absolutely nothing. He stated that my reaction couldn’t be any reaction caused by the anthrax vaccine and that I must have had the flu and to carry on with the series. He suggested that I may want to find a new job, as it appeared I had too much stress associated with my position. This was in May of 1999. Word started spreading around the base about myself and the cluster, that we were having problems from the shot. Again, we were the first for our base to receive the shot. Medical personnel and command had no idea what to expect. When the rumors began spreading around the base about our illnesses, people’s awareness began to grow about the vaccine, which began leading to skepticism of the vaccine, concerns about the adverse reactions, etc. The report that LTC Thompson submitted to our wing commander after his investigation, conducted in May, into the cluster of those ill from the vaccine, concluded that everyone’s symptoms were prior problems that member’s already had, or, was something else other than reactions from the vaccine, i.e., flu or stress. The report done from LTC Thompson, and the Special Team’s visit, was written up for the sole purpose of squelching people’s fears that there were any reactions associated with the vaccine. LTC Thompson was trying to avoid high refusal ratings that may be at the 110th, by stating that medical conditions were ‘pre-existing’, and/or not caused from the vaccine. My questions to LTC Thompson, my unit chain of command and the National Guard Bureau, were never answered as to ‘how these symptoms could be pre-existing when I never had any of these problems’. The report submitted from LTC Thompson was a complete disservice to those of us ill that needed and wanted answers, and those that had not been affected yet that wanted an honest assessment. Those of us that were ill, were met with denials.
In July of 1999, I had sent in a follow up to testimony to my previous Congressional testimony from April, because they were doing another hearing. I went down to DC to attend this hearing as well, but only as a spectator.
Before September of 1998, my awards, medals, letters of commendation and appreciation, that I had earned, were phenomenal. I had never had any disciplinary problems. By the time that I came back from testifying in front of Congress, I started getting letters of reprimand – at least once sometimes twice a week.
My fifth shot was due in October of 1999. In September, I began trying to get a waiver to get any more shots through any avenue available. Initially, I tried going through the chain of command, seeking a waiver from the medical facility and my squadron commander. I was denied as I was told that I had been “examined” by two military physicians’ that stated my reactions were not from the vaccine. I then asked for a 2nd opinion from a different physician that was at least knowledgeable of the reactions from the vaccine or that would even examine me properly. I was again denied. I then tried to seek help to intervene on my behalf from my Congressional leaders, which included Representative Nick Smith, and Senator Carl Levin. Both wrote to the military on my behalf, and was met from the status quo letters from the military, that the “threat was real, and that the vaccine was safe and necessary”. I was then denied by my Congressional leaders. My civilian job was dependent on me being in the military. If I wasn’t in the military, I didn’t have a civilian job. The program is a total catch-22 for technicians. I was trying to get a waiver from taking a fifth shot because I knew I wasn’t going to take any more shots for the sake of my own health. I knew if I refused the fifth shot I was going to get kicked out of the military and that meant I would lose my civilian job.
But you knew the military was going to kick you out? How did you know that?
Oh yes. They stated I had to take the shot and if I refused, it would be labeled as disobeying a direct order. Each time one refuses, they get a letter of reprimand. This keeps going in this fashion until one refuses the direct order from the highest in command. In my case, it would have been my wing commander. Initially, I refused the order from my squadron commander. This came in October of 1999, along with a reprimand of disobeying a direct order. In November of 1999, I refused when my Group commander gave me the Direct Order, which resulted in a letter of reprimand, an article 15, and being sent home from drill weekend without pay. In December of 1999, I again refused the Direct Order, which came from my wing commander, which resulted in a letter of reprimand, article 15, and discharge from the Air National Guard. I was escorted around the base by my 1st Sergeant to out-process.
And this was told to you ahead of time that this was a direct order that you had to take it?
Yes.
In October of 1999, I ended up resigning my civilian job as a technician. I started looking for other civilian employment just because I knew I would be kicked out of the military, and would lose my civilian job as a result. I ended up getting a new job and resigned my civilian position as a technician, before I could be fired. I could not get a waiver. I was told I had to take the fifth shot. I tried to get Congressional help to intervene on my behalf. They were told in no uncertain terms that this is a military requirement, so the Congressional staff said ‘sorry there is nothing we can do.’ I was stuck having to get my fifth shot or suffer the consequences of refusing. I chose to suffer the consequences of refusing.
Drill weekend came in October and at this time, I was no longer a technician at the base, but a traditional guardsman.
Could you have moved from the guard to the reserves to get out of the vaccine?
No. The Reserves and Guard is the same thing, essentially. One is funded from the state, and the other federal. Once you begin the series, you’re not supposed to stop, it’s against FDA protocol. To switch to the reserves would not have gotten me out of any further shots. I was in the Inactive Ready Reserves (IRR) for the remaining 2 years of my enlistment. What this means is that I did not attend drill weekends, or, do my annual two weeks. But, if we were to be called to war during the period that I was in the IRR, I could have been recalled.
Why did you refuse the last shot? What did you learn?
I refused because I was still ill. I wasn’t going to subject my body to anymore unnecessary harm from the vaccine. I was still young with my life ahead of me. The military turned their backs on me, so, I had to protect myself.
Are your symptoms any better at this point?
In November 1999 I still felt the same way. I still was having everything that was going on in March when I first got the shot. When I got my letter of reprimand in November, I wrote directly on it a statement that I refused my fifth shot because problems were still going on with me that command or medical staff either couldn’t explain, wouldn’t explain or wouldn’t address, so for the sake of my own health I was refusing the fifth shot.
In December, I came in again for drill. The chain of command knew ahead of time that I was going to refuse, so everything was already setup for me – and that was my written orders to take the shot, my letter of reprimand, an article 15 and my discharge paper work.
I was initially discharged with a general under honorable conditions. I gave nine years of my life to the military and found this completely unacceptable. I fought that discharge by sending in my request to the Air Force Personnel Center to have my discharge upgraded. Ultimately, with a panel of 3 members, 2 members voted to change my discharge to upgrade it to honorable, and one voted for it to remain the same. I ended up receiving a discharge of “honorable”. The conclusion from the 2 members that voted to upgrade my discharge is ironic in the sense that their reasons for finding that my discharge be upgraded was because I seemed generally concerned for my health.
Today, September of 2004, I’m feeling a lot better than what I was back in 1999.
What are you currently doing? Are you still involved with the anthrax vaccine?
Currently, I try to help others that are out there that can’t fight for themselves due to illness, fear of retribution, or I try to help those that are trying to find out more information about the anthrax vaccine that they will not be provided from the military. It seems never ending.
Did you try different types of medications for your problem?
Yes I did.
Were they helpful?
I don’t honestly believe so. I was on a lot of painkillers, which left me floating through life, but, I don’t believe the medications did anything to treat the root cause. I ended up quitting all medications.
What prompted you to quit the medications?
I felt like I was spacey all the time and I just didn’t like that. I didn’t have the feeling that I had my wits about me. Between that and this awful feeling that when I woke up I had to take this, at lunch I had to take that, at dinner I had to take this and that, at night I had to take that… I felt a little bit that I was getting dependent on them, so I quit taking them.
What was the explanation given to you for taking these medications in the first place? What condition were the doctors treating?
That’s just it. The doctors didn’t know what they were treating. The civilian doctors that I was seeing, didn’t know anything about the anthrax vaccine. They had no knowledge on Gulf War Illness, not saying that I have GWI [Gulf War Illness], but that the symptoms were running parallel. They didn’t know anything. So basically what was happening is when I was going in to see them for problems I was having, they were trying to do anything to mask the symptoms. They didn’t know what they were treating.
So how are you feeling now?
I still have memory lapses, occasional migraines, the pain in the forearms when doing repetitious movements and sleeping disorders. I have my good days and I have my bad days. When I have my good days I feel that I’m back to my normal spunky self who’s so full of life and laughter; and for that, I thank God. When I’m having my bad days, I still thank God that I’m not as bad off as others that have been affected by this vaccine. Overall, I think I’m just downright grateful to be here and to be in a position today to where I can help others. I’m just overall grateful to be alive.
What is your opinion of the military leadership?
The military leadership needs a lot of work. I feel that, especially right now with everything going on with the bio-terrorism, they are trying to do anything and everything that they can possibly do to say that they are doing something, or to give the appearance that they’re doing something to protect the troops. But they are doing it based on the unknowns of what an experimental vaccine can do to a person, and with the unknowns of how many vaccines can a human body/immune system handle, or the genetic differences or gender make-up. Unfortunately, all of their testing of these vaccines is at the expense of the troops. Further down the road when more vaccines begin to develop, it’s only going to get worse. I can’t fathom the thought of what new epidemic is going to sweep this nation next. I really wonder if the military leadership has any idea how much havoc they’re wreaking with these biological warfare vaccine projects.
Why do you know it’s experimental?
With the anthrax vaccine, a couple of things make it experimental.
The vaccine being used now is not the same vaccine that was approved by the FDA in 1970. This information came out publicly in a GAO [General Accounting Office report, GAO/T-NSIAD-99-148, Medical Readiness, Titled: Safety and Efficacy of the Anthrax Vaccine, Page 3], which stated that the vaccine was similar, but, not the same. Any time there is a manufacturing change or process change, which both occurred with the manufacturer, the FDA needs to be notified and they need to approve such changes. This never happened with the vaccine that came out of the manufacturer. When the FDA initially licensed the vaccine in 1970, they did so, on the “limited use” as it was for wool-hide handlers and the workers that worked in tanneries. Data was supposed to be submitted into the FDA with a larger clinical study, as the study that was submitted consisted of approximately 650 recipients, which the FDA stated was not acceptable based on the limited data from such a small clinical trial. That data however, never came forward. No data exists in human studies to see if the vaccine works with inhalation anthrax. A proposed rule, [Federal Register: 21 CFR, Parts 314 & 601, docket #98N-0237/wais.access.gpo.gov] was sought from the FDA to accept animal data as opposed to human data for approving vaccines where obtaining human data would be unethical considering willful exposure to chemical agents, however, that rule was never finalized by the FDA. This also renders the vaccine experimental. Title: New Drug and Biological Drug Products; Evidence Needed to Demonstrate Efficacy of New Drugs for Use Against Lethal or Permanently Disabling Toxic Substances When Efficacy Studies in Humans Ethically Cannot Be Conducted, which can be viewed at: www.majorbates.com. In addition, the anthrax vaccine was never approved for inhalation anthrax.
What’s your opinion of the anthrax vaccine at this point?
I feel the anthrax vaccine is unsafe. I feel it is still being used illegally on our troops. I don’t force my opinion on anyone, but, I would never recommend anyone to take it, either.
Where would you recommend getting information from?
See websites listed at the end of the article.
Are reactions being cataloged and if so where are they being done? Does this vaccine fall under the compensation program? How are soldiers handling it if not being compensated?
Some reactions are being cataloged, some are not. It really depends on the person’s unit, and if the person is aware that he/she can also file a VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System] report if they feel they had an adverse reaction to the vaccine. I’ve heard from some soldiers’ that their unit filed a VAERS report on them, and I’ve heard from others’ that their unit refused to file a VAERS report.
The vaccine may fall under compensation for civilian use, but, it will never fall under compensation for the military, as it is mandatory, and not optional. The question posed about “how are soldier’s handling it, if not compensated”, is interesting….
Again, it all depends on what a unit does. If a person actually has their reactions listed from the military, and they’re listed as being a reaction from the vaccine, and that person can no longer serve because of the problems from the vaccine, the person is compensated, usually by being medically retired out of the service. So, they receive medical pay, and sometimes VA pay. This pay however, does not usually compensate what they previously earned. If reactions are not listed, or not listed as being associated from the vaccine, then, the soldier is on their own to compensate themselves. I’ve talked with many whose symptoms were not listed as being associated from the vaccine, and their only alternative to “compensation” was filing “bankruptcy”.
How did you first become familiar with the controversy over Anthrax vaccine?
After I took the anthrax vaccine and became sick from it. I received no information or help from the military. It took outside sources from civilians that had no interest in me (monetarily or otherwise) that finally helped me. I also read a lot of the information from Major Rempfer and LTC Dingle that did the background research on the vaccine, the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, the FDA, DOD, and BioPort.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I know many people who have taken this vaccine and have gotten so ill that they cannot work to this day. The sad thing is, is that many of them are only in their 20’s. And they’re not attributing hardly anything to the vaccine. What’s even more complex is that the leaflet itself states that any systemic reaction is a contradiction of any more shots, as symptoms could and probably will get worse. The Department of Defense has decided that it will decide what level of a systemic reaction will qualify for any exemptions. Virtually, if one has a systemic reaction, they either have to be incapacitated, or dead to receive an exemption. It’s also interesting to note, that the Department of Defense is currently trying to pass a law in Congress which states that under “National Security”, a soldier can be given a vaccine and does not need to be told ahead of time what the complications may be from that vaccine. It was stated that this law would be used only in “rare” circumstances under “National Security”, however, with the war on terrorism, this will be an ongoing war where everything will be classified under “National Security”. The Department of Defense currently does not give soldiers the true reactions behind the anthrax vaccine, and now with this law that’s trying to be passed, its only function is to legalize their illegal actions that they’re currently doing.
To my knowledge at this point, the bill does not have a number. This provision however appeared in the Project Bioshield Act of 2003. This information was made available through Global Security Newswire on September 5, 2003. I will quote some of the items of interest. “The provision, contained in the House version of the Project Bioshield Act of 2003, would allow officials to respond to some emergencies by administering drugs to the nation that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (yes, Nation, NOT just soldier’s). The law would require officials to inform potential drug recipients of the drug’s potential health risks and to get the recipient’s consent to administer the drug, but it would also permit the president and other senior officials to waive these requirements when delivering the drugs to US Military personnel … Furthermore, the Health and Human Services secretary could authorize delaying the notification of recipients of their potential health risks. The proposed law says the information would be provided to the drug recipient, or next-of-in in case of a death, no later than 30 days after the individual received the drug … Tauzin said the disputed provision was intended only to eliminate an individual’s right to refuse a drug, not to deny drug recipients information on potential health risks, except in “extraordinary circumstances”.
There are at least 18 more biological warfare vaccines that are coming down the pipeline that are going to be tested on our military troops. The anthrax vaccine is like the centerpiece, and if they have a hard time with this one based on refusals, injuries, etc., they’re going to have a hard time trying to pass these other 18 through Congress and the troops as a ‘wise choice’.
What are the 18 vaccines?
This figure initially came from Dr. Sue Bailey on April 14, 1999, at the hearing with the Government Reform Committee, that I testified at. This information came during question/answer portion from the committee, so, is not part of her actual testimony. When the question was asked, it was asked about diseases that posed a threat under biological warfare that vaccines were in the process of trying to encompass. Initially, the committee was told it was “classified” information. Representative Shays got upset with that answer. Dr. Sue Bailey then began rattling off a few, and was then interrupted, so, the list never got read off in its entirety.
When you say they passing it through do you mean the military leadership or who?
The military leadership. I mean the Department of Defense.
Who are the military leadership?
The Military Leadership are those in high command at the Pentagon or influential organizations/positions who are trying to pass the biological warfare projects through. As in for “who” directly, it’s very hard to say. This is a very large revolving door where individuals involved have ties to pharmaceutical companies by either stocks or Board members.
What do you think their motive is?
I think the motive is political and financial. Instead of focusing on early detection devices, getting the chemical suits up to standard – which they are not – the Department of Defense is focusing their energy on biological vaccine products. Common sense says persons/companies, etc.. will ever be able to keep up with the genetic engineering of biological warfare products through vaccines, considering a strain can be changed in a matter of minutes, and a vaccine to incumbent that one strain takes years.
Do you think there is a financial connection? Is there anything you like to add?
I have no doubts on that. I think it goes a lot further than that, but the ties are no coincidence.
There are political/high ranking military officials who have ties to the pharmaceutical companies and the vaccine business. A couple examples are, the one that most everyone knows about, Admiral Crowe. Admiral Crowe was one of former president Clinton’s biggest financial contributors to his presidential campaign. Admiral Crowe owns part of BioPort.
Former Army Surgeon General, Ronald Blanck. In 1994, General Blanck testified to Congress, Senate Report 103-97, page 15, dated December 8, 1994: "Unfortunately, when anthrax is used as a biological weapon, it is likely to be aerosolized and thus inhaled. Therefore, the efficacy of the vaccine against biological warfare is unknown." Furthermore, Lt. General Ronald Blanck (page 35) stated: "Anthrax vaccine should continue to be considered as a potential cause for undiagnosed illnesses in Persian Gulf personnel..."
In 1997, when the AVIP was first announced by Former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, LTG Blanck’s stance did a 180, to where now he was in full support of the anthrax vaccine. In October of 2003, a press release was submitted by Mitretek stating that LTG Ronald Blanck was selected to serve as a member of their Board. Mitretek is a company that was hired by the DOD to oversee BioPort’s testing of their own stockpile of the anthrax vaccine in 1998-2000. After testifying to congress that the vaccine should not be ruled out as a cause of GWI, LTG Blanck later repeatedly denied any problems with the long-term side effects caused by the anthrax vaccine, both in congressional testimony and on 60 Minutes. Interesting enough, Togo West, another former secretary of the Army also sits on this same board.
Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, from 1977 to 1985 served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., a worldwide pharmaceutical company.
Lt. Col. John Grabenstein is the Director for clinical operations for the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program. LTC Grabenstein is a firm supporter of the AVIP and continuously refuses to connect any adverse events associated with the anthrax vaccine, though the product label clearly states otherwise. Interesting enough, LTC Grabenstein also sits on the Board for Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) and directs the American Pharmaceutical Association (APA) program to train pharmacists throughout the United States to immunize. The APA is also a financial contributor to IAC.
And considering you’re asking me my opinion, it would not also surprise me to see in the end, a couple of other different scenarios.
1) The Department of Defense is trying to be the first in the rush of mad science to combat all diseases, naturally or engineered; or
2) The defense mechanisms being sought for biowarfare terrorism, is not actually to counter defensive measures, but, to combat offensive measures.
Either way, for the military personnel, I see a very grim future, based on a department of defense that has lost touch with reality and the value of human life. Unfortunately these programs seem to be a trade off at our troop’s expense.
Additional recommended sources?
www.ngwrc.org/anthrax/default.asp
http://www.dallasnw.quik.com/cyberella
This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care. If you have or suspect you have a serious health problem, you should consult a qualified health care provider.