Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
By Charles L. Cragin One of warfare's guiding principles has always been that a
weakened enemy is a more easily defeated enemy.
Historically, this principle seems to have had particular
relevance when it came to biological weapons. The first recorded
use of biological warfare involved the Romans, who placed animal
carcasses in the water supplies of their enemies -- an act of
creative attack that poisoned the water, thinned the
opposition's ranks and dealt a mortal blow to enemy morale. In
later centuries, the Tartars took this concept one step further
by catapulting bodies infected with bubonic plague over the
walls of besieged cities.
These rudimentary attempts pale in comparison to the ability of
modern technology to perfect the means and methods of biological
warfare. As such weapons become more powerful, accurate and
deadly, and more available and easier to deliver, our military
personnel are increasingly at risk.
Today, at least 10 countries, including Iraq and North Korea,
now have -- or are attempting to acquire or produce --
biological weapons. Within this context, anthrax remains the
weapon of choice for germ warfare: As Secretary of Defense
William Cohen has said, "It is very easy to weaponize and almost
always deadly."
When anthrax is inhaled, death is the predictable outcome for
those who have not been vaccinated. Once clinical symptoms
appear, death is assured despite the most heroic, state-of-the-
art, post-exposure medical intervention and treatment. Death
from anthrax can be prevented by vaccination -- it provides our
men and women in uniform with their only chance of survival.
In an effort to protect our military personnel from the anthrax
threat, the Department of Defense has begun inoculating the
Total Force with the anthrax vaccine. Over the next seven years,
1.4 million active duty personnel and some 900,000 members of
the Selected Reserve will be immunized.
I have taken four in the series of six anthrax shots as required
by the Food and Drug Administration for full protection.
Secretary Cohen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.
Hugh Shelton, and numerous other senior military and civilian
leaders have done the same, and they, too, are on their way to
full protection against this threat.
The anthrax vaccine has had an excellent safety record since it
was first licensed and approved by the FDA in 1970. Before
Secretary Cohen authorized the use of a single dose, he ordered
supplemental testing of the vaccine, doubly ensuring the
vaccine's safety and far exceeding any pharmaceutical industry
standards. Supplemental testing, combined with the ongoing
supervision of the FDA, demonstrates that the vaccine is safe
and effective.
In addition, many independent organizations have explicitly
endorsed the vaccine, including the FDA, the World Health
Organization, the American Public Health Association, the
National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the American
College of Physicians, and the National Institutes of Health.
As of July 1999, more than 315,000 service members have received
over 1,013,000 shots. The rate of FDA-reported adverse reactions
for this vaccine is less than those reported for other vaccines,
such as typhoid and hepatitis A and B, making this one of the
safest vaccination programs in history. The department will
continue to closely monitor any adverse reactions and provide
appropriate and timely medical evaluation and care.
The Department of Defense is also working closely with the
BioPort Corp., currently the vaccine's only FDA-licensed
manufacturer, to ensure the continued sterility, safety, potency
and purity of the vaccine and to ensure a sufficient supply to
meet the department's requirements. BioPort purchased the
anthrax vaccine production facility from the State of Michigan
in 1998, and since then has upgraded and added to its existing
facility.
Sending our men and women in uniform into harm's way without
anthrax protection would deny them the protection they need and
threaten the critical missions they are called upon to perform.
Just as we would not send our forces into battle without helmets
and flak jackets, we cannot send them into an arena unprotected
from another known threat -- anthrax.
Simply put, if we stop anthrax protection today, we would
threaten force health protection tomorrow. Secretary Cohen and
Gen. Shelton said it more succinctly when they recently wrote:
"Our commanders must know that all, not simply some fraction, of
their forces are protected from this biologic threat. Soldiers,
sailors, airmen and Marines fight in teams and they need to know
that all team members are protected from anthrax."
Our men and women in uniform are routinely vaccinated against
many diseases, including tetanus, diphtheria, influenza,
hepatitis A, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and yellow fever.
The anthrax vaccine will protect our personnel from another
disease -- a disease that will kill, a disease that can be used
as a weapon. So what we are doing today is no different from
what we have always tried to do: We are taking prudent measures
to protect the Total Force.
The anthrax protection program is the right course of action and
the most effective way to counter this lethal threat. The
vaccine is safe, effective, FDA-licensed and essential for
protecting all our personnel -- active duty, National Guard and
Reserve.
If you have questions, ask your commanders or medical personnel;
go to the department's official anthrax Web site at:
www.anthrax.osd.mil; or call the new anthrax hot line at 1-877-
GETVACC.
Above all, understand the basic facts: Anthrax kills,
vaccination protects.
Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs
Special to the American Forces Press Service
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