Protecting Our Troops So They Ca

PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY GROUPS AS POSSIBLE.

Scott Miller has asked us to help spread the word that his film is being shown at the GI Film Festival in Washington DC on Sunday, May 18 at 9:30 am. The GI Film Festival will be May 14-18. If you live nearby it would help to go and support Scott for all his hard work and dedication over the years. The tickets are $5.00.

Thank you Scott for another great job!

http://www.gifilmfestival.com/2008/08filminfo/acalltoarms.html

www.gifilmfestival.com

"Anthrax is a disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which is housed in a hardy spore, a cell that is dormant but may come to life in the right conditions. The disease usually affects livestock, but - as the world has become fully aware - it also infects humans. A naturally occurring disease known since biblical times, anthrax has been developed into a modern biological weapon."

"Inhaled anthrax spores (upper-right inset) can settle in the tiny air sacs (alveoli) of the lung (upper-left inset). Once inside the lungs, the spores transform into bacteria (lower-right inset), which spread to the lymph nodes, bloodstream and elsewhere in the body. The bacteria multiply and eventually produce toxins that cause severe damage to the lungs and other tissues."

"From 1955 to 1999, 236 cases of anthrax in humans were reported in the United States. Most involved cutaneous anthrax, and most occurred in people who work with animal carcasses or products."

"To date, the worst documented outbreak of inhalation anthrax in humans occurred in Russia in 1979. Anthrax spores were accidentally released from a military biological weapons facility near the town of Sverdlovsk, killing at least 66 people."

"Experts say that biological agents such as anthrax are more of a threat to individuals, who can be infected by anthrax sent through the mail, rather than a threat against large groups."

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Soldiers' Synopses of Adverse Reactions

1. Here is Sgt. Eric Colon's story, a medic in Iraq, from the Operation Truth website:

2. The Homeland Security Policy Institute Group: Anthrax Vaccine has some interesting accounts on "blog" by soldiers of the harm the anthrax vaccine has done to them and/or their loved ones. There are chats by veterans with Gary Matsumoto, author of Vaccine A, on here. Go to http://www.hspig.org/MT/weblogs-hspig/archives/2004/11/anthrax_vaccine_1.html

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1. Terry Collins Develops “Green” Catalysts for Potential Use in Industry and Biological Warfare

Terry Collins, the Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, has developed environmentally safe oxidation catalysts that can be used to decontaminate biological weapons, such as anthrax, and eliminate toxic residues produced by several industries. Members of Collins’ laboratory presented the latest findings on this work at the recent American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in New York City.

At the ACS meeting, Collins and his research group discussed FETAMLs’ effectiveness in killing an anthrax simulant (a benign form of the deadly biological warfare agent), reducing fuel pollutants, detoxifying pesticides, treating pulp and paper processing byproducts, cleaning wastewater from textile dye manufacturing and catalyzing chemical reactions with oxygen instead of hydrogen peroxide.

Moorhead, MN….Disabling the lethal toxins in anthrax and other bio-weapons would go a long way in protecting America from terrorism.

That’s why Moorhead native and Minnesota State University Moorhead distinguished alumnus Rodney Tweten, now a professor of microbiology at the university of Oklahoma’s Health Sciences Center, received a three-year, $2.48 million grant to fund research for a new drug that has the potential to do just that.

He and his colleagues have developed a method to rapidly generate and screen mutants of anthrax toxin that could neutralize the deadly effects of the bacteria. These agents could potentially be used to reduce or eliminate deaths among late stage inhalation anthrax disease victims.

“Unfortunately, today’s anthrax vaccine is not appropriate for protecting the general public,” said Tweten, who’s heading the research team. “There is a critical need to develop new therapies that could be quickly administered following a bio-terrorist attack. The drug we’re working on could be much more effective, since it would target toxin activity after the initial anthrax infections.”

“Anthrax toxin is comprised of three proteins, and these proteins have to work together to create the actual toxin,” he said. “One of my former students who did his post-doctoral studies at Harvard University discovered that if you mutated one of these proteins in the right place, when it combines with the other anthrax proteins, it inactivates the toxins. We’re simply replacing a functional sub-unit with a dysfunctional one.”

With the grant, Tweten and his team will try to discover additional mutants that can be used as a therapeutic to block the action of the toxin. In the late stages of anthrax, he said, it is the toxin, not the growth of bacteria, which kills people.

Treated Fabric Kills Anthrax Spores

BALTIMORE, MD (March 22, 2005) – Military textile fabric treated with an antimicrobial compound can kill dormant anthrax spores and could provide the basis for enhancing military protection in the event of a biological attack. Scientists from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD) report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.

“The dormant phase of the anthrax spore is the hardiest phase of the spore and the most difficult to kill. If this can kill dormant spores, then it could more easily kill germinating spores,” says Jon Calomiris. Calomiris conducted the study as part of a research program, headed by Heidi Gibson of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center (Natick, MA), to investigate the feasibility of antimicrobial textiles.

“This difference is not really surprising because for disinfectants, as you increase the temperature the effectiveness of a disinfectant increases,” says Calomiris. “What’s important is that we have proven the concept to be viable.”

Additional research must be done to determine what effects, if any, the disinfectant may have on human health and will also focus on potential applications for this technology in the field.

“This treatment could be useful for a variety of fabrics where you might have concerns about exposure to a microorganism. Applications of antimicrobial fabric could include clothing, tents and tarps,”says Calomiris.

4. UAB tailors antibiotic for anthrax: Terrorism safeguard in testing offers hope for tough infections

News Staff Writer

A powerful new antibiotic capable of protecting troops and civilians from anthrax could be ready for use in an emergency within three years, and it also may be effective against tough, common infections, a top UAB researcher says.

The drug was designed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Center for Macromolecular Crystallography.

“The Army has spent $6.5 million to develop the antibiotic over four years, and an estimated $16 million more is needed, [Larry] DeLucas said. The Army has indicated it will likely approve another portion of funds, he said.

The drug was tested successfully on anthrax at the Army’s Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, MD. It also was tested successfully on animals to ensure it wasn’t toxic.

DeLucas said the antibiotic was designed using crystallography. That process allows a drug to be precisely tailored to block the internal workings of a virus or bacteria.

Anthrax bacteria are protected by a spore until they enter the body. then, they germinate into deadly bacteria. DeLucas then said the new antibiotic allows the anthrax to germinate, but blocks an enzyme that stops it from developing further.

DeLucas said that UAB’s new antibiotic could be more effective against anthrax than Cipro.

5. Antibiotics are effective post-exposure (Cipro and Dioxycyclene). In fact Cipro has been standard issue as part of every soldier's gear during Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

6. Detection capabilities are improving (Congressional Hearing, Rep. Christopher Shays, May 19, 2003)
The USA is currently using Biological Integrated Detection System (BIDS), as well as JointPoint, Joint Biological Point Detection System, and the P3I in the field. The goal is to have BIDS in every major city. According to a member of a Chem Unit that we spoke with, it would be more effective to put billions of dollars into more BIDS rather than innoculating people against numerous possible toxins.
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If you or your loved one have had a bad reaction to the anthrax vaccine (or any vaccine), please fill out a VAERS form (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). To get a VAERS form, go to www.vaers.hhs.gov, or call 1-800-822-7967. Be sure and keep a copy for yourself in case your form is accidentally lost.

Look at the anthrax vaccine adverse reaction health registry at www.milvacs.org You can see the common side-effects and reactions to the anthrax vaccine or file a report about your reaction to the anthrax vaccine.
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About the Department of Defense (DoD) and its Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP)

The DoD began the mandatory AVIP in 1998. Anthrax vaccines were given before then during the two Persian Gulf Wars of the 1990s. However, not much is known from that time period because medical records were often not kept in good order. The AVIP was halted by Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on Oct. 27, 2004. Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, said “This is just a pause.” More than 500 military members were forced to take the anthrax vaccine in violation of the court’s injunction as late as March of 2005. The AVIP resumed under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the new Bioshield Act, but it was a voluntary program. The Judge’s decision has been appealed by the DoD. After the first EUA expired (6 months), another EUA was granted. Currently, the AVIP has become mandatory for all military members again....(click on title above for full document)

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About FDA

The Food and Drug Administration has been both helpful and harmful concerning the safety of the current anthrax vaccine. On the one hand, the FDA detected the squalene (also called MF59) contamination in the 5 lots of anthrax vaccine in parts per billion (ppb) at Dover Air Force Base, in October of 2000, and had those bad lots quarantined. Unfortunately, soldiers were already becoming severely ill as documented in Dr. Walter Schumm’s article in Medical Veritas, vol. 1, of 2004, titled “Anthrax vaccine and Gulf War illness symptoms in Captain Jean Tanner’s Dover Air Force Base survey” (163-5). In 2005, the FDA also stated that five more people’s deaths can be attributed to the anthrax vaccine, bringing the total number up to 21 people who have died since 2000 from the anthrax vaccine; and, 5,120 people have reported adverse reactions (via Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) from the anthrax vaccine since the early 1990s. These numbers only include those who have taken the initiative to report their reactions. We do not know how many adverse reactions go unreported. The FDA inspected Bioport’s anthrax vaccine plant on 4 separate occasions. Bioport failed these inspections, and after dozens of violations (such as unknown particulates, temperature violations, tampering with expiration dates on labels, potency levels, and more) went uncorrected, the plant was shutdown in 1999. The American public, especially our military members, are grateful for the FDA’s role in these safety measures that were taken concerning the anthrax vaccine.... (click on title above for full document)

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Contacting Congress

To Contact the President
President George Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
202-456-1111, for comments to the President
202-456-2461, fax
president@whitehouse.gov

Quotes from the Anthrax Vaccine Product Insert (2002) on reactions and fatalities:

Approximately 6% of the reported events were listed as serious. Serious adverse events include those that result in death, hospitalization, permanent disability or are life-threatening. The serious adverse events most frequently reported were in the following body system categories: general disorders and administration site conditions, nervous system disorders, skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders, and musculoskeletal, connective tissue and bone disorders. Anaphylaxis and/or other generalized hypersensitivity reactions, as well as serious local reactions, were reported to occur occasionally following administration of BioThrax. None of these hypersensitivity reactions have been fatal.

Other infrequently reported serious adverse events that have occurred in persons who have received BioThrax have included: cellulitis, cysts, pemphigus vulgaris, endocarditis, sepsis, angioedema and other hypersensitivity reactions, asthma, aplastic anemia, neutropenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, lymphoma, leukemia, collagen vascular disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, polyarteritis nodosa, inflammatory arthritis, transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, immune deficiency, seizure, mental status changes, psychiatric disorders, tremors, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), facial palsy, hearing and visual disorders, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, syncope, glomerulononephritis, renal failure, spontaneous abortion and liver abscess. Infrequent reports were also received of multisystem disorders defined as chronic symptoms involving at least two of the following three categories: fatigue, mood-cognition, musculoskeletal system.

Reports of fatalities included sudden cardiac arrest (2), myocardial infarction with polyarteritis nodosa (1), aplastic anemia (1), suicide (1) and central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma (1). [emphasis is mine]

[Please note that doctors and nurses have written to us here at Protecting Our Guardians that any reaction rate over 1% would necessitate taking the vaccine off the market, yet the anthrax vaccine with a documented reaction rate of 5-35% continues to be used.]

Anthrax vaccine product insert advises stopping the 6 shot regimen if contraindications (specifically any anaphylactic-like symptoms or Gullain-Barre Syndrome) occur. Yet, other systemic adverse reactions are not allowed to stand as contraindications. If the shots are making someone sick/systemic adverse reactions they should be allowed to stop the regimen before a permanent disability or another fatality occurs even when that particular symptomology is not one of the two contraindications listed on the product insert. Where’s the commonsense? (http://www.bioportcorp.com/default.asp)

In 1998, 603 medical personnel at Tripler Army Medical Center filled out questionnaires about their reactions to the anthrax vaccine. Their systemic reaction rate to the anthrax vaccine was 48%, much higher than Bioport’s 5-35%. According to Dr. Nass’ report to the FDA, entitled The safety and efficacy of anthrax vaccine have not been established, and the preponderance of the world’s literature shows the vaccine is unsafe, and a contributor to Gulf War Syndrome as acknowledged in the vaccine’s package insert , some serious reactions were reported. One person developed Multiple Sclerosis. Two people had neurological problems. A neonatologist developed a tremor and upper extremity weakness associated with a CPK level that was over 1000. A pediatric cardiologist developed numbness and fasciculations, indicative of brachial plexopathy, that later resolved. Strangely, only 601 people were listed in the final published paper, not 603, as noted in the report by GAO (GAO/T-NSIAD-99-226). It is also noteworthy that although eleven women became pregnant during the study, the outcome of these pregnancies was never mentioned.

This study is cited as: Wasserman, G, Grabenstein JD, et al. Analysis of adverse effects after AVA in US army medical personnel. J Occ Envir Med 2003;45:222-233.

“United Press International reported that at least 10 people have died after receiving the vaccination,” according to “Blocking the Shot: A Federal Judge orders…” by Eric Boehlert on Oct 29, 2004 http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/29/anthrax) (link not valid)

“The existing anthrax vaccine could be linked to 21 deaths and more than 4,100 illnesses, Newsday reported yesterday.

Experts also questioned whether the vaccine now being stockpiled or those being developed could protect people who inhale the pathogen during a terrorist attack.

…”’The number of doses they are amassing is wildly out of proportion to any possible threat from anthrax,’ said David Ozonoff, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. ‘What the benefits are is very unclear and there are always (health) risks… when you vaccinate a whole lot of people.’”

…A study led by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland found the best results for treating monkeys exposed to anthrax came from using both the BioPort vaccine and antibiotics. All monkeys that received both treatments following exposure survived. Roughly 90 percent of monkeys survived if they received only the antibiotics, while only 20 percent of the monkeys that received only the vaccine lived.”

Dr. Meryl Nass, physician in Maine who treats many service-members that have become ill from the anthrax vaccine, “estimates 10% of the recipients experience serious side-effects such as arthritis, neurological impairment, memory loss and migraine attacks states “Blocking the Shot: A Federal Judge….” by Eric Boehlert on Oct. 29, 2004. Visit Dr. Nass’ website at www.anthraxvaccine.org

Richard “Dick” Dunn died on July 7, 2000 from “inflammation” due to the 11 anthrax vaccine shots he received, according to the medical examiner. Richard worked with the lab animals at BioPort (the manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine) since 1992. His wife, Barbara Dunn, testified before Congress Government Reform Committee on Oct. 3, 2000 (http://www.whale.to/v.dunn.html) (link not valid)

Anne Spaith, a Microbiologist and former Department of Defense civilian employee who specialized in biological pathogens, became disabled after receiving what she characterized as the “extremely dangerous, forced” anthrax vaccine.

“If we value individual human life, then as a society we’ll not place ourselves in the position of demanding risk-taking and sacrifice of a minority of individuals for the theoretical benefit of the majority, even if we have the power to force that sacrifice.”

“We must fund the research arm of FDA to fully study biological predispositions and mechanisms that lead to adverse reaction, vaccine injury and/or death.”

Connecticut atty general concerned about vaccine’s effect on guardsmen

“In 2001, Connecticut’s attorney general concerned the state might bear responsibility if its National Guardsmen got sick from the vaccine”, wrote the Department of Defense and the FDA urging them to abandon the program. Asserts Eric Boehlert in “Blocking the Shot: A Federal Judge” on Oct. 29, 2004.

In the 1970’s, people used to get 17 vaccines on average, but in the 1990’s that number is up to 76 vaccines. There is great scientific debate going on about whether people’s immune systems can handle it or not.

Women comprise approximately 16% of military. Their chemistry is different from men’s, which may account for them having at least twice the reaction rate of men to this vaccine. As the saying goes, “one size does not fit all.”

Dr. Renata Engler, Colonel, chief of the allergy-immunology dept. at Walter Reed Army Med. Center in Washington, DC, at a DOD meeting in May 1999, acknowledged the fact that women have more side effects across the board, that “our data with women at the start of the program [AVIP] was very limited,’ and that there are sex and age differences in vaccine reaction. She went on to say that “since women do tend to be the bulk who get autoimmune disease,’ women in the military who have strong reactions should be checked ‘early’ for a predisposition to autoimmune disorders that could be triggered by this vaccine. She said “{Serious reactions are} fortunately still a rare event, thank God, but you like to be able to not feel, in retrospect: Gee, I pushed this immunization and maybe I shouldn't have."” (Sheila Weller, Self, Oct. 2001, p. 220)

When 337 military members were vaccinated in S. Korea, 40% of the men had minor to severe reactions, whereas 70% of the women had the reactions. (Rempfer and Dingle, “Information Paper for America’s Policy Makers,” W. Suffield, CT, October 26, 1999, p.7)

On May 13, 2003, the technical sergeant was on the first C-5 flown into Baghdad. The aircraft and the runway were blacked-out. Adkins, the pilots and the crew wore night-vision goggles, casting a green tint on the gunfire that filled the skyline.

On Jan. 8, 2004, after another C-5 had an engine shredded by a surface-to-air missile, Adkins was picked to help fly the crippled aircraft out of Baghdad on its three remaining engines - a bold feat even airworthiness experts didn't know was possible with a 374,000-pound aircraft.

"We knew if [the plane] took another missile, we'd be riding it into the dirt," he said.

Adkins and the entire crew were recommended, and are still in line, for the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the nation's highest awards for bravery.

Now, despite medals, special operations missions and an unblemished service record spanning 14 years, Adkins says commanders at Dover are making an example of him because he complained about his medical issues linked to the anthrax vaccine. Adkins believes he's being punished to send a warning to other personnel that they shouldn't call attention to the most controversial issue to hit the base since the Vietnam War.

Adkins' former commander, retired Col. Felix Grieder, is enraged that an airman of Adkins' abilities is being singled out for speaking the truth.

"Sgt. Adkins flew two of Dover's highest-profile special operations missions into a war zone and performed exceedingly well," said Grieder, who commanded the 4,000 troops at Dover Air Force Base from 1997 to 1999. "Only Dover's very best fliers are selected for the special operations missions. Since their missions are classified, their accomplishments are not widely known. Sgt. Adkins has served our country and the Air Force well. Now, the Air Force needs to properly address his health issues and treat him with the respect that he deserves."

Base officials declined to comment about Adkins' situation or the uproar the vaccinations have caused at Dover.

Adkins arrived at Dover in 1998. It was the fifth duty assignment for the Alabama native.

He has started a part-time landscaping business out of his home in Smyrna, and he and his family are very involved in their church. Adkins plans to retire in Delaware some day.

"It feels like home to us," he said. "We love our church family and what we've made here."

Six of his eight anthrax vaccinations were tainted with squalene, a fat-like substance linked to autoimmune disorders.

Adkins suffers memory loss, muscle and joint pain, an occasional racing heartbeat, weight loss and severe migraines, all of which he blames on the anthrax vaccine.

Once an avid powerlifter, Adkins weighed 252 pounds and could bench press 425 pounds before he received his first anthrax vaccination.

On Oct. 22, after he was hit by a "crippling" migraine, Adkins told his squadron he was reporting to the flight surgeon rather than flying a mission.

Even during a flight, if crew members become ill or overly tired, they are encouraged to declare "safety of flight," at which point they are relieved of their duties - no questions asked - without any fear of discipline or repercussions.

Adkins didn't mention the link between his migraines and the anthrax vaccine to the medical staff, but he didn't need to.

"Severe headaches," euphemisms for migraines, are cause for grounding of pilots and crew. And like "joint pain," headaches have become buzzwords at Dover for personnel suffering adverse reactions to the anthrax vaccine.

The flight surgeon prescribed Immotrex, an antimigraine medication, for Adkins' headaches and a narcotic pain reliever that grounded him for 20 days.

Because The News Journal has in the past month brought heightened awareness to the anthrax controversy, Adkins believes the response from his chain of command was immediate and unprecedented at Dover.

The chief flight engineer issued Adkins a letter of reprimand (LOR), a potential career-killer for an Air Force sergeant. Adkins' military lawyer says the LOR could bar Adkins from further promotion, access to specialty schools, choice assignments or possibly even re-enlistment.

"Your actions decreased the readiness of a high priority alert mission, caused last minute schedule disruptions and could have resulted in loss of training or inability of DoD assets to execute the mission," the letter states.

In addition to the written reprimand, issued contrary to the Air Force's policy of progressive discipline, which generally dictates a verbal warning followed by punishment that increases in severity, Adkins received 76 hours of additional duty. That forces him to do nothing while sitting next to another flight engineer in the base's control room - "on display" to every airman who walks by.

"They're making an example of me because I complained about the migraines," he said. "They associate that with the anthrax. They're scared of losing control."

Slomich has seen hundreds of letters of reprimand during his time at the air base, but few like Adkins'.

"It's very unusual and strange he was given an LOR for going on sick call," he said.

Slomich and one of Adkins' former supervisors confirmed Adkins has never before been disciplined by the Air Force.

Adkins flew with Master Sgt. Dexter Joseph, the chief special operations flight engineer, on the mission out of Baghdad. The two later became close friends.

"We flew together all the time. We were on the same crew," Joseph said. "I trusted him with my life then. I trust him with my life now."

Retired Lt. Col. Jay Lacklen is a former Dover C-5 pilot who blames his advanced arthritis on the six squalene-tainted anthrax vaccinations he received at the base.

"By reprimanding Sgt. Adkins, Dover commanders are encroaching on a sacred safety principle established by generations of military fliers. When a crew member declares a safety of flight, he should never be challenged on that call, if valid," Lacklen said. "To do otherwise would intimidate crews into flying with unsafe medical conditions to avoid punishment. This would endanger the crew, the aircraft and the mission. This is a gravely unwise sanction for a flight engineer who did exactly as he should have."

Lacklen has spearheaded a public information campaign about the anthrax vaccination program and has interviewed scores of fliers with adverse reactions. But even Lacklen had never heard of a flier disciplined for going to sick call rather than the flight line.

"Apparently, the Air Force is reprimanding him for yielding to a condition they inflicted on him, a most unjust procedure that blames the victim for the crime," Lacklen said.

Personnel at Dover Air Force Base don't discuss their anthrax vaccinations openly.

"It's hush-hush," Adkins said. "We have to go behind closed doors. It's hardly even brought up."

Dover Air Force Base has become ground zero for the anthrax controversy. Problems began at Dover in May 1999 after some troops in their 20s and 30s began developing illnesses normally associated with old age.

"Sgt. Adkins has experienced a significant decline in his health since he started with the anthrax vaccination program at Dover Air Force Base in late 1998," Grieder said.

Grieder, who was then commander, halted the vaccination program, a move he said brought an end to his military career.

Testing by the Food and Drug Administration detected squalene in varying amounts in the vaccine administered at Dover. The substance was detected in all the vaccine sent to Dover, but not in vaccine sent to other military installations.

The Air Force and the Department of Defense have continually stressed the safety of the vaccine, despite the claims of scores of military personnel who say it made them ill.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the Pentagon to halt the mandatory anthrax vaccination program.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued the order, calling the program "illegal." Sullivan did not rule on whether the vaccine was dangerous, but he chided federal officials for not accepting enough public input before they declared the vaccine safe.

Adkins, Lacklen and others say the combination of national events and scrutiny from The News Journal has created immense pressure for senior officers at the air base.

"Dover commanders are unjustly shooting this anthrax messenger, Sgt. Adkins, to ensure there will be no more messengers," Lacklen said. "This reveals an integrity collapse at Dover Air Force Base."

Neither Col. John Pray Jr., Dover's commander, nor Command Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Maynard, the base's senior sergeant, returned calls or e-mails seeking comment for this story.

Dover Air Force Base is subordinate to the Air Mobility Command, located at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

Air Force Gen. John Handy, commander of Air Mobility Command, was unavailable for comment.

His spokesman, Mark Voorhis, said the safety and health of Air Force personnel are top priorities for Air Force leaders at all levels.

Voorhis hinted that Dover commanders may have gone too far in Adkins' case, though he declined to address it specifically, citing privacy concerns.

"It is not policy at any level to punish people for reporting to sick call," he said.

Despite the possible violation of Air Force policy, Voorhis said, "Wing and squadron commanders have the confidence of their senior leaders in their ability to effectively discharge command responsibilities at their levels."

On Thursday afternoon, after The News Journal started investigating Adkins' story - and after Voorhis made inquiries for his boss, a four-star general - the commanders at Dover intervened.

"Since I'm still grounded for the headaches, they told me I didn't need to attend," Adkins said. "They wouldn't tell me what it was about."

The pilots and crews were ordered to go through the base's public affairs chief, Maj. Cheryl Law, before talking to the media. They also were ordered to avoid talking about the anthrax vaccination program, and they were told they would be held accountable for what they say.

Law refused to disclose why the squadron was recalled, or on whose order the recall took place, or specifically what the personnel were told.

Lacklen pointed out that requiring the troops to go through public affairs does not deny them access to the media, but it does force them to publicly identify themselves before talking to reporters.

"It's something they may properly do to protect secrets," he said. "But they are doing it here to cover embarrassing information.

"Ominously, they apparently must warn their members not to tell the truth. The troops know nothing classified about the anthrax program, so speaking about it to the media shouldn't be a problem, but apparently it is," Lacklen said.

Adkins does not want to remain in the Air Force, and he will never again take another anthrax shot.

"I feel like I've been deceived and misled," he said. "The whole program has caused a lot of harm to a lot of people who are putting their lives on the line for this country. I am really thankful to Col. Grieder for having the courage to step forward when no one else would.

"If someone is suffering symptoms like mine, they need to come forward, because if you're suffering now, it's only going to get worse."

(CBS) Amid all the war stories that have come out of the conflict with Iraq, Tyran Duncan's hasn't been widely told. The willing soldier became an unwitting victim to the vaccinations he was required to take to deploy. And as CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports, he's not the only one.

Tyran Duncan was just 17 - Number "45" at Monterey High in Tennessee - when he signed up for the Army.

"I was excited," says Duncan. "I mean it's always been my lifelong dream to go into the military and, you know, be a soldier."

At boot camp, he eagerly lined up for vaccinations, including flu and anthrax.

"They gave us, I'd say, seven shots … at one time," he says.

First he got a rash, then flu symptoms.

"It got to where I couldn't walk at all," he says. "I couldn't even hold my glass up with both hands to take a drink out of it.

"Basically they accused me of faking it."

But Duncan wasn't faking. Within days, he was paralyzed, on a respirator and certain he'd die, until his grandmother who raised him came to help.

"There was nothing wrong with him when they got him," says Duncan's grandmother Faye Harville. "It had to be the vaccines. I'll never see it another way."

Rehabilitation video chronicles his difficult fight back. At one point last January, he weighed 96 pounds.

Months after his paralysis hit, he was finally back at home, but he still couldn't feed himself or put on his shoes.

Today, he remains unsteady, and muscle and joint pain are constant companions.

Duncan's paralysis was diagnosed as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is clearly listed under "adverse reactions" on the anthrax vaccine label.

But soldiers don't get to see that vaccine label when they get their shots. And the Pentagon publicly claims there are no long-term adverse events from the anthrax vaccine. So soldiers may end up misdiagnosed, then discharged with serious illnesses.

(CBS) A half million U.S. soldiers were inoculated for the war with Iraq. Some of them got sick after their vaccinations. Whether the vaccines were to blame remains an open question because, as CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports, the military may not be reporting all the cases properly.

When Army Reservist Rachael Lacy got her military shots last spring, she became deathly ill in a matter of weeks.

The coroner listed "recent smallpox and anthrax vaccination(s)" as contributors to her death.

Yet the military doesn't mention Lacy under "Noteworthy Adverse Events" in an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association touting its smallpox vaccine success. It claims no deaths.

It also makes no mention of a cluster of unexplained pneumonia cases that were beginning to surface. The military says it's investigating the pneumonia reports along with federal health officials.

But experts tell CBS News the military should have reported them as possible post-vaccine illnesses.

In the medical world, illnesses and deaths after inoculations - even if they're not obviously related to the vaccines - are supposed to be reported so experts can look for new side effects nobody knew about. But there are questions as to whether the military is coming clean about all the adverse events.

"You have to report everything," says Dr. Meryl Nass.

Nass, a civilian doctor, treats soldiers who think vaccines made them ill and who claim the military won't admit or report it.

Besides Lacy, the military also discounted the death of a National Guardsman who had a heart attack and NBC correspondent David Bloom who died of a blood clot after getting military shots for his war duties. It doesn't mean vaccines caused the deaths, but they're supposed to be reported and independently checked for patterns.

Yet, the Defense Department told CBS News it only reports deaths if its own clinicians conclude they're vaccine-related.

"Nobody who collects adverse event reports does that kind of filtering," says Nass.

Military Vaccine Woes Mount
(excerpt)
CBS News

(CBS) Dennis Drew was prepared to fight the enemy in Iraq, but never got the chance. After his military vaccinations, his immune system completely unraveled.

"Severe pneumonia and myocarditis, I think almost killed me," said Drew, a U.S. Army chemical weapons specialist.

Now living in constant pain, daily life is almost unbearable. His illnesses are nearly identical to those suffered by Rachel Lacy before she died last spring. The coroner said her military shots were likely to blame.

It's estimated thousands of soldiers claim serious illnesses from military vaccines. But to them, the most maddening thing is they don't exist -- at least in the eyes of top military brass -- who insist there is, quote, "no evidence, none whatsoever" that inoculations cause any long-term problems, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

That includes blood clots.

The military denied any possible link to vaccines when NBC War Correspondent David Bloom died at age 39 of an apparent blood clot after his military shots.

Yet a CBS News investigation has uncovered more than a dozen cases of the vaccines being linked to blood clot problems.

(CBS) Kamila Iwanowska is the latest soldier to get kicked out of the U.S. military for refusing the anthrax vaccine, CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.

"It's not about defiance and it's not about being a bad soldier, because it's not," says Iwanowska, a former Army reservist, who received a bad conduct discharge.

She says it's about her belief that the anthrax vaccine could be dangerous. Since it became mandatory five years ago, hundreds of troops have been disciplined or booted out for rejecting it, and dozens of others have been court-martialed.

"If I knew then what I know now, I would have refused to take the vaccine," said Jason Nietupski, a former U.S. Army captain who got seriously ill after his shot in 2000.

"I developed blood clots in my legs," Nietupski says. "They found pulmonary nodules in my lungs."

But even when the Army finally documented that the vaccine was to blame, Nietupski says no one reported his case to the FDA, which tracks adverse events.

"There's a lot of people like me out there because doctors in the military are fearful of reporting adverse events to the Food and Drug Administration because of potentially being reprimanded for doing so," he says.

In fact, a General Accounting Office investigation last fall found that the rate of side effects from anthrax vaccine was hundreds, sometimes thousands of times higher than what the military claimed.

The Defense Department says it now encourages more accurate reporting of adverse events. But the latest numbers the military provided CBS News still fall short:

Among 600,000 people who got anthrax shots in the past year, possible side effects are reported by the military in only a fraction of one percent: .142 percent or 852 reports per 600,000 people. The GAO investigation released last fall found a much higher rate in a survey of vaccines: 85 percent, with side effects ranging from lumps and rashes to hospitalizations.

Dr. Bill Winkenwerder, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, oversees military vaccines and says he urges all problems to be reported.

He says it's "just not true" that the military hasn't provided the whole story as to how many people are getting sick from anthrax vaccines.

"We've been very forthcoming," Winkenwerder says. "There'd be no reason to be anything else other than that. Our personnel are our most important assets."

Article claims troops used as guinea pigs

After some of his troops in their 20s and 30s began developing arthritis, neurological problems, memory loss and incapacitation migraine headaches, Col. Felix Grieder took a drastic stop. In 1999, he halted the vaccination program in Dover, a move he said ended his military career. The decorated Air Force colonel has spent the past five years trying to discover the truth about the vaccine program in Dover, where he commanded 4000 troops.

“In my opinion, there was illegal medical experimentation going on,” says Grieder, who lives in Texas.

In a March 1999 report, the General Accounting Office accused the defense Department of a “pattern of deception” and said the military confirmed human tests involving squalene only after investigators found out about them.

Of the first 50 batches of vaccine distributed worldwide for the mandatory inoculations, only five contained squalene – and those were all shipped to Dover. After denying for more than a year that there was squalene in the vaccinations given at Dover, the Air Force admitted in 2000 that it had been wrong.

The five batches of vaccine sent to Dover contained increasing concentrations of squalene, Food and Drug Administration tests show. Some scientists say the pattern of squalene concentration could indicate that the military was measuring the troops’ response to different dosages. Professor Dave smith, a microbiologist at the University of Delaware, is one: “I’m certainly not saying they did or didn’t do it. But you have to ask yourself, if you have five data points like that, what are the odds of that happening?”

An estimated 1.9 million service members have received anthrax vaccine. Experts disagree widely over how may of them have experienced ill effects from the vaccine. Estimates range from 0.007 percent, or 13,000 people, by the Air Force to 84 percent, or 1.6 million people, by the GAO.

In Feb. 2003, doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center wrote in a medical assessment of Senior Airman Daniel Tam of Dover: “We have recently encountered numerous service members who have precipitation and exacerbation of headache syndromes with concomitatnt receipt of the anthrax vaccine. The immunopathogenic mechanism has yet to be established.

Military personnel said they were afraid they could face a court-martial for speaking publicly because it would violate an order to keep silent. Former military personnel, many of whom have taken jobs with commercial airlines, said they could lose their jobs if the extent of their illnesses became known.

Some civilian experts say squalene suppresses the immune system so that people predisposed to specific illnesses can get sick years earlier than normal. Some young troops have reported illnesses usually seen by people in their 60’s and 70’s.

Ten months after the briefing, the Army applied for a patent for a new way to make anthrax vaccine with squalene as an ingredient. The patent was granted two years later. Smith, the UD microbiologist, reviewed the patent application for The News Journal and noted that squalene was a component. The purpose of the squalene was not explained in the patent.

In October 2000, the FDA announced it had found squalene in all five batches of vaccine sent to Dover – the lots Roadman said were safe.

Despite the official denials, some military physicians have concluded that the Dover vaccine harmed some servicemen and servicewomen

The medical records of a Dover pilot, who feared for his career if his name was used in this story, show that several military physicians linked his advanced arthritis to the vaccine.

“The symptoms began after anthrax immunization, and are in the line of duty,” the records say. The pilot’s records also reveal the presence of an antigen associated with autoimmune disorders.

The symptoms included memory impairment, dizziness, ringing in the ears, joint pain, muscle pain, numbness in various parts of the body, miscarriage, cardiac problems, swollen testicles, hypothyroidism, chills, fever, rashes, photosensitivity and constant fatigue.

Sens. Joe Biden and Tom Carper and Rep. Mike Castle, all of Delaware, would not comment about Col. Grieder’s allegations. Through their respective spokespersons, they said they didn’t know enough about Grieder’s claims.

Metcalf’s report cites Defense Department “stonewalling” and characterizations from GAO investigators that accused the Defense Department of instituting “a pattern of deception.”

The GAO investigators reported a reluctance by the Defense Department to admit it had conducted five clinical trials with squalene, and had plans for one more.

“In fact, in most cases they only admitted to conducting research after we had discovered it in public records,” Metcalf’s report states. “On three occasions people attending the conference did not report their own research with squalene adjuvants.”

Metalf and the GAO found that the Defense Department experimented with adjuvants “to use fewer inoculations, get a better response and to check unconquered antigens.”

Many of the military personnel interviewed for this story said they were forced to choose between their health and their career. Cave said the likelihood of military punishment is significant for those who refuse vaccination. “I have to advise them it’s in their best interests to take it.”

There are conflicting opinions about whether anthrax vaccinations are safe. But there can be no debate that anthrax containing squalene, even in trace amounts, is potentially harmful. And, as the story by Lee Williams and Hairan Ratnayake on the front page of today’s Sunday News Journal clearly delineates, the anthrax vaccination program at Dover Air Force Base went terribly wrong for awhile. As a result, many people have been left with serious lingering medical problems such as arthritis, migraine headaches, neurological problems and memory loss. Some of those vaccinated are severely incapacitated.

Many people are becoming seriously ill after taking the mandatory anthrax vaccine, but the DOD does nothing to investigate or prevent this occurrence. It has the appearance of caring more about its 112-130 million dollar contract and investments than about its people, which should be remedied before morale suffers further. Meanwhile Congress seems divided on the issue and no proactive results are forthcoming.

Soldiers’ stories: Pain and Punishment

Summary: “The News Journal interviewed dozens of active-duty and retired pilots and crews, most of whom were afraid to speak out publicly. Those still in the service feared military punishment, since they believe they have been ordered not to discuss their experiences with news media. Many of those no longer on active duty fear their current employment, often with commercial aviation companies, could be threatened if the extent of their illnesses became known. A few agreed to tell their stories to the news Journal, provided their names were not used. The newspaper reviewed relevant military and medical records of people not identified.”

“A Dover pilot with no family history of arthritis contracted the disease in his mid-30’s, after taking only two anthrax vaccines.”

“More worrisome is a brief notation in the pilot’s records that indicate the presence of an antigen associated with autoimmune disorder, which can suppress the immune system and cause AIDS – like symptoms.

“Like most of the personnel at Dover, he was never told of the risks associated with the vaccine, and he was used to taking orders.

“Another Dover pilot may refuse to submit to more anthrax vaccinations – a step that could lead to a court-martial, dishonorable discharge or military prison.”

“One senior pilot at Dover was sent to Spain after he refused to take the shot. At that time, Air Force personnel in Spain were not required to take the anthrax vaccine.”

“The Air Force could court-martial someone for refusing a lawful order, and the Air Force already has determined that the vaccination order is lawful.”

“Senior Airman Danny Tam describes his home as a depressing bat cave.” He is considered 100% disabled by the VA, and normal room lighting triggers the severe headaches.

“Tam deployed to Saudi Arabia in October 2002, before the start of the war in Iraq. However, his medical records stayed behind in Dover. When Tam arrived in Saudi Arabia, he was ordered to take the shot. Tam refused and was threatened with a dishonorable discharge. He persuaded his commander to allow him to try taking one-third of a normal dose. As Tam feared, the migraines were triggered again. Despite this, he was ordered to take the rest of the vaccine, but instead of the two-thirds he had coming, he got a full dose. The migraines returned on a daily basis. Tam spent a year on convalescent leave, until he was medically retired last January.”

“Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey L. Moore, a reservist with the 512^th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, received a first anthrax shot on July 27, 1999. Four days later, his hands started aching severely, and by the first of September, his feet were aching, too. Then it progressed to dizzy spells and memory loss and such as that, said Moore, who compiled 5,000 flying hours as a C-05 Galaxy loadmaster before being grounded because of the symptoms.”

Moore has a permanent waiver from taking any more shots, and feels that he was lucky because he knew what to do and how to stop the shots.

“Cheryl Angerer, a C-5 Galaxy pilot, took just one anthrax shot, but she says that was enough to trigger neurological problems that landed her in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in suburban Washington, D.C. “

She also received a waiver that lasted a year, but it expired. She left the military but would like to still be flying, the shot requirement is what has kept her from going back.

“Even before squalene was discovered in the anthrax vaccine administered at Dover Air Force Base, the vaccine was suspected as a cause of health problems. Dozens of Web sites and support groups are dedicated to linking autoimmune disorders to the shot. The vaccine has been the subject of several scientific studies that conclude it could be a factor in making soldiers sick. Department of Defense officials say the vaccine is safe, with or without squalene. Thousands of troops have taken the vaccine with no ill effects. The military says it is normal for a small number of people to have a bad reaction to any vaccine. Despite such assertions, military personnel continue to report problems after taking the vaccine, even when squalene is not known to be present. Troops have reported a range of symptoms from minor irritation at the injection site to chills and fever to severe arthritis.”

Layne Hill is a former pilot who is now 100% disabled. He was diagnosed with lesions on his brain after receiving his first anthrax vaccinations while stationed at Yokota Air Force Base in Japan.

Exposes 3 deaths of young, healthy service members from anthrax vaccine: helicopter pilot Erik Nilson, army cook Sandra Larson, and Army reservist Rachel Lacy.

Two days after a military nurse injected Lavester Brown with the anthrax vaccine at Pope Air Force Base near Fayetteville, his heart failed.

Brown was 34, an avid athlete, career military. Doctors had warned him to avoid vaccinations, he said, because of a reaction to a malaria drug in the early '90s. But when Brown told superiors, he said, they warned he could be kicked out of the military if he didn't get vaccinated for anthrax.

Brown was afraid: of the vaccine, of losing his job. He had a wife and four young children to support "I kept telling them, `I can't take the shot.' "

The vaccination is mandatory, part of the military's war on terrorism. Brown had been in the Air Force 14 years and was trained to follow orders. So when a commander, a major, a captain and a first sergeant all ordered him to be vaccinated, Brown, a technical sergeant, rolled up his sleeve and took the jab.

Thousands of soldiers have suffered unexplained illnesses after getting the anthrax vaccine, ranging from muscle aches to death. The federal Food and Drug Administration says the vaccine has no more side effects than other vaccines, but cases like Lavester Brown's raise troubling questions:

There was concern about the anthrax vaccine long before the threat of global terrorism.

In the 1990s, the FDA found problems with quality control procedures at the only U.S. company that makes the vaccine, then owned by the state of Michigan. The FDA warned that if the problems were not corrected, the company could lose its license. The state halted production in 1998 and began renovations, then sold the plant to BioPort.

After terrorists hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001, and anthrax-laced letters killed five people and infected at least 13 others, demand for a vaccine erupted. In January 2002, the FDA gave BioPort approval to distribute its vaccine to the military.

The FDA and the Department of Defense and BioPort all say the vaccine is safe. A vocal group of current and former military personnel, doctors and members of Congress claims it is not. Three lawsuits challenging the vaccine are now in federal court.

Brown knew nothing of the controversy on Friday, Feb. 27, when he got the fourth in a series of six anthrax shots. He rarely got sick, not even a cold. He didn't drink. He didn't smoke. He stood 5 feet 11 1/2 inches and weighed 207 pounds, but so much was muscle, he looked lean.

The day after the fourth anthrax shot, Saturday morning, he played basketball at the gym as usual but quickly tired. He went to the emergency room that night, he said, and a military doctor diagnosed a gastrointestinal infection.

By Sunday, he felt as if his body was filling up with fluid. The muscles in his neck throbbed and bulged. He had trouble breathing. Back at the emergency room that night, he said, a doctor again diagnosed gastrointestinal infection.

Something else is happening, Brown remembers saying. I can't breathe. He said his wife, Ebony, insisted on X-rays. "When they looked at the X-rays," Brown recalled, "the doctor got this look on his face. I knew something was terribly wrong."

Brown said his heart was so enlarged, it had almost stopped pumping. He now takes medication to keep it beating until a transplant becomes available. He has dropped to 151 pounds, and walking only a few feet exhausts him. Friday, he was medically retired from the Air Force.

Before he got sick, Brown sometimes worked two jobs to provide for Ebony and their four children, ages 5 to 12. Now Ebony works and the children help care for him, and that's been a tough transition.

"I wish we had done our homework before Lavester got in line (for the vaccine)," Ebony said. "We trusted the military."

Until recently, anthrax had been considered primarily a livestock disease. People can be infected in three ways -- through skin contact, by eating infected meat or by breathing airborne spores -- but it's rare.

The military became convinced that Iraq had developed biological weapons, including anthrax, and might pack its Scud missiles with the deadly bacteria. Nearly everyone who inhales anthrax dies if not treated.

Since then, about 1.2 million military personnel have received the vaccine, six doses over 18 months, followed by yearly boosters. (Several hundred thousand, a Pentagon spokesman said, got the vaccine during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.)

Out of 4.7 million doses given since 1998, the government says it has received 3,817 reports of adverse reactions, from headache, fatigue and fever to cancer, cardiac arrest and autoimmune diseases. The reaction rate, the government says, is about the same as for other adult vaccinations.

The Pentagon cites a 2002 report by the Institute of Medicine, a private, nonprofit scientific group, that said a better vaccine is needed, but that the current vaccine is "acceptably safe and effective."

Other studies link the anthrax vaccine to Gulf War illness, a medically unexplained fatigue suffered by veterans of the first Gulf War. One study found more adverse reactions to the anthrax vaccine than to other vaccines, and urged doctors to report all reactions so the scope of the problem could be determined.

Christine Nilson, who lives in Wilmington, hadn't heard about the controversy over the anthrax vaccine until after her husband, Erik, died. Now she's convinced it killed him.

Erik Nilson flew CH-46 helicopters for the Marine Corps and was vaccinated twice, before two separate six-month deployments to the Mediterranean.

Soon after he came home for the second time, in October 2001, Christine noticed the whites of his eyes had yellowed. Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington discovered bile duct cancer, a slow-moving, usually fatal cancer that most often attacks people over 60.

He was, Christine said, "a man's man," who loved hunting, fishing and the Marines. He had had a rough childhood, she said, and often told her he wanted nothing more than to be a good father.

Christine Nilson said no one from the military ever mentioned a possible connection with the anthrax vaccine. The national Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System has no record of Nilson's death.

But the more Christine Nilson read, the more she believed there was a connection. "There is," she said, "no other explanation for it."

Other service members have died of rapid-acting diseases after getting the vaccine, including Army cook Sandra Larson of Kansas. Four weeks after her sixth anthrax shot, she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare disorder resulting from failure of bone marrow to produce blood cells.

The package insert on the vaccine, approved by the FDA in 2002, cites her death and the deaths of five other vaccinated military members. But a panel of civilian doctors concluded that none of the deaths was related to the vaccine.

The Pentagon has linked only one death to the vaccine: Rachel Lacy, a 22-year-old Army reservist, who died in April 2003 of a pneumonia-like illness after receiving five vaccines, including anthrax. The Pentagon said the vaccines may have triggered the illness that led to her death, but that "the evidence was not conclusive."

Critics say the government is stonewalling the way it did with the herbicide Agent Orange in the Vietnam War and with Gulf War illness.

"The first thing they do is fight, deny, obfuscate ...," said Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center, an advocacy group for veterans. "Meanwhile people are getting sick."

About 10,000 Vietnam veterans receive disability benefits because of exposure to Agent Orange, and tens of thousands of others suffer illnesses. An estimated 100,000 Gulf War veterans suffer a range of symptoms, including memory and thinking problems, fatigue, joint pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and rashes.

Robinson said he has spoken with hundreds of veterans who said they had adverse reactions to the anthrax vaccine, but they can't prove it and are not getting the medical help they need. They complain of chronic fatigue, bone and muscle pain, migraine headaches, short-term memory loss and cognitive impairment."While anthrax is a threat," Robinson said, "the American public, much less the military, should not be given an inferior vaccine."

In federal court, two lawsuits are pending against BioPort, a third against the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The lawsuits challenge whether the vaccine is safe, effective, even necessary. On Dec. 22, 2003, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., blocked the Pentagon from forcing soldiers to get vaccinated. He ruled that the FDA had never approved the vaccine for use against inhaled anthrax. The military, he said, could not make troops "serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs." Eight days later, the FDA approved the vaccine against inhaled anthrax.

Although Sullivan called the timing of the order "highly suspicious," he lifted his injunction. The military once again ordered vaccination.

As many as 500 active-duty personnel have been dismissed from the military for refusing vaccination, according to congressional testimony. At least 100 have been court-martialed.Tom Kaufmann, an airman first class at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, refused to be vaccinated in December 2002.

He had read about problems at the manufacturing plant, he said, as well as about illnesses among people who got the vaccine. Kaufmann, now 22, was demoted, then discharged under "conditions other than honorable."

"My first sergeant repeatedly called me a coward, saying I was afraid of war, afraid of serving my country," Kaufmann recalled. "I told them that I wanted to deploy. I wasn't against the war." He was, he said, only against the vaccine.

Anthrax comes from the Greek word for "coal" because infected skin forms ugly black lesions.

The rod-like bacteria were discovered in the 19th century. Louis Pasteur created the first vaccine in 1881.

Anthrax spores can live in soil for decades. People contract the disease in three ways: through skin contact, eating infected meat or breathing airborne spores.