12/28/1997  Vaccines Will Not Suffice-Fight Vs. Anthrax Needs Other Ammo  The Pentagon's plan to give everyone in the military an ounce of prevention against anthrax will not eliminate the need to have pounds of cure on hand if an enemy  unleashes the deadly disease as a biological weapon.

12/28/1997 sidebar  Scott officer: Anthrax program complicated  The process of vaccinating millions of service members against anthrax is complicated but necessary, the top medical officer at Scott Air Force Base said. 

2/6/1998 British Avoiding Vaccines For Troops In Gulf
British military leaders are not giving biological warfare vaccinations and anti-nerve agent pills to troops heading to the Persian Gulf because of concerns they could start a second round of Gulf War illnesses, London papers reported this week.

3/4/1998  U.S. troops to receive anthrax shots this week
U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf will start getting vaccinations later this week to protect them from the thousands of gallons of anthrax weapons Iraq is thought to have, Pentagon officials announced Tuesday

5/25/1998  Anthrax Vaccines Expired  The U.S. Navy injected sailors in the Persian Gulf with a 5-year-old batch of anthrax vaccine, two months after federal regulators said the vaccine had been given a new expiration date improperly.

5/25/1998 sidebar  Scientists describe anthrax vaccine as an outdated 'disgusting mix'  Researchers have described the anthrax vaccine the  Pentagon  intends  to give millions  of  troops  as  "1950s  technology  unimpeded  by  medical progress." 
 

5/29/1998 Letter from Lieutenant General Ron Blanck U.S. Army Surgeon General  response to May 25, 1998 story (see above)
Or see the letter  posted at http://www.defenselink.mil/other_info/blanck.html
 

6/30/1998  Veterans group files lawsuit - Anthrax vaccine's use is questioned  A veterans group Monday filed a lawsuit demanding the government prove its anthrax vaccination program is safe and effective while the latest group of sailors heading for the Persian Gulf reportedly are refusing to take the shots. 
Spokesman Cynthia Vaughn also corrected a May 29, 1998 letter  (see above) from Lt. Gen. Ronald Blanck, the Army surgeon general, published in the News-Democrat on June 4. Blanck claimed that the FDA had "inspected and approved every lot of anthrax vaccine," including the one used in the gulf. 
 

8/8/1998  AWOL soldier wants vaccine hearing -Says he was forced to take anthrax drug  A 20-year-old soldier is requesting an official inquiry into his claim that a top sergeant threatened to strap him down and forcibly vaccinate him if he refused anthrax shots. 

8/17/1998  Army forces anthrax vaccinations  As the Pentagon expands its anthrax vaccination program this week, Army  officials are saying they have the right to forcibly restrain and vaccinate soldiers who refuse the shots.

9/16/1998  New anthrax shots criticized  Sailors in the Persian Gulf say the Navy is no longer using a batch of  anthrax vaccine that was improperly relabeled after it expired, but the  new batch is one that also was criticized by federal inspectors for quality control problems. 

3/15/1999  Resistance to vaccination is growing   Faced with a small but growing rebellion against mandatory anthrax vaccination, the Pentagon has unleashed an extensive public relations campaign to convince troops the vaccine is safe and effective. 

5/8/1999 Colonel suspends shots One of Air Mobility Command’s wing commanders has suspended anthrax vaccinations at his base, the biggest wrinkle yet to the Pentagon’s mandatory vaccination program.

5/14/1999 Anthrax vaccinations set to continue at air force base The commander of Dover Air Force Base ordered the resumption of anthrax vaccinations Tuesday.  A week ago the commander halted the controversial program at the Delaware base because medical personnel could not adequately answer airmen’s questions.

2/7/2000   Resistance growing to anthrax vaccinations
A growing resistance to the Pentagon's mandatory anthrax vaccinations is shoving Air Mobility Command into the national spotlight, as one of its pilots is choosing to face a court martial rather than take the shots.

2/7/2000 sidebar  Pentagon, foes locked in complex battle  In its war of words with opponents of the anthrax vaccine, the Pentagon has frequently found itself firing dud ammunition and even shooting itself in the foot.

3/27/2000 Defense contradicts itself in question over anthrax vaccine  Although the Pentagon has long maintained that its controversial anthrax vaccine is licensed for use against aerosol exposure from biological weapons, military leaders now are asking to amend the license for such use.

3/27/2000 sidebar Pentagon now admits reactions much higher  As many as one-third of all military personnel who receive the anthrax vaccine may have systemic reactions such as aches, rashes, chills, fevers or nausea, Pentagon officials now admit. That includes Lt. Gen. Ronald Blanck, the Army’s surgeon general who oversees the program.

4/14/2000 Pilot asks to resign after dispute  A pilot assigned to Scott Air Force Base’s 375th Airlift Wing is asking to resign his commission and be discharged after being punished for refusing to take the controversial anthrax vaccine.

4/19/2000 Mandatory anthrax vaccine use is illegal  Orders to take the military's controversial anthrax shots are illegal because the vaccine is not licensed for use against aerosol anthrax used as a biological weapon, two senior Air Force officers argued in a legal brief.

4/21/2000  Military: Wait to be fired -- Pilot can’t quit over vaccination  A pilot who asked to resign after refusing to take the controversial anthrax shots has been told he can’t quit because the Air Force is probably going to fire him.

4/24/2000  Pilot: Others told him they became ill  Doesn't believe anthrax shot is safe  He's been grounded, stopped from competing in military running events, dropped from a squadron program to tutor and  mentor elementary school children and may be thrown out of the Air Force with the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge.

5/27/2000  Pilot now allowed to resign  An Air Force VIP pilot who refused to take the controversial anthrax vaccine will be allowed to resign with the military's second-best  discharge, he learned Friday. 
Capt. Clifton P. Volpe, a C-21 pilot at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., had resubmitted his resignation request last month after his first request was rejected on the grounds the Air Force was considering throwing him out.