thedrifter
10-23-02, 06:51 AM
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- During a recent hearing before the
Senate Armed Services Committee, Department of Defense officials admitted for
the first time that the Pentagon's secret chemical and biological warfare
testing program known as Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD), one of many
chemical/biological tests that were part of Project 112, involved human
exposures on a scale far greater than originally believed. Potentially
thousands of military personnel were exposed to VX and other sarin nerve
gases as well as other dangerous chemical and biological agents during the
1960s and 1970s.
In the past, Pentagon spokesmen have testified before the House Veterans
Affairs Committee that service personnel involved in tests using live
biological agents had been vaccinated beforehand and given protective
clothing. However, veterans who testified at the Senate hearing indicated
that they had experienced no such protective measures.
"Military personnel deserve the truth concerning the health consequences
related to military exposures," said Thomas H. Corey, Vietnam Veterans of
America's (VVA) national president. "More importantly, they deserve medical
treatment." Vietnam Veterans of America recommends that information about
all of the testing programs in SHAD/Project 112 be declassified immediately
and that exposed veterans be given expedited VA examinations as soon as they
are identified.
VVA also calls for an official investigation into why and how information
vital to the health of so many individuals had been withheld for all of these
years.
"We applaud the members of the Senate committees for their leadership and
pursuit of the truth in this matter," Corey said. "Department of Veterans
Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, once presented with evidence of the
experimentation, has also taken a leadership role in discovering the truth
regarding these exposures. VVA stands ready to take any action needed to
assure justice for these veterans."
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally
chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era
veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is "Never again will
one generation of veterans abandon another."
http://www.usnewswire.com
Contact: Mokie Porter of Vietnam Veterans of America,
301-585-4000, ext. 146
10/21 12:12
Sempers,
Roger
Senate Armed Services Committee, Department of Defense officials admitted for
the first time that the Pentagon's secret chemical and biological warfare
testing program known as Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD), one of many
chemical/biological tests that were part of Project 112, involved human
exposures on a scale far greater than originally believed. Potentially
thousands of military personnel were exposed to VX and other sarin nerve
gases as well as other dangerous chemical and biological agents during the
1960s and 1970s.
In the past, Pentagon spokesmen have testified before the House Veterans
Affairs Committee that service personnel involved in tests using live
biological agents had been vaccinated beforehand and given protective
clothing. However, veterans who testified at the Senate hearing indicated
that they had experienced no such protective measures.
"Military personnel deserve the truth concerning the health consequences
related to military exposures," said Thomas H. Corey, Vietnam Veterans of
America's (VVA) national president. "More importantly, they deserve medical
treatment." Vietnam Veterans of America recommends that information about
all of the testing programs in SHAD/Project 112 be declassified immediately
and that exposed veterans be given expedited VA examinations as soon as they
are identified.
VVA also calls for an official investigation into why and how information
vital to the health of so many individuals had been withheld for all of these
years.
"We applaud the members of the Senate committees for their leadership and
pursuit of the truth in this matter," Corey said. "Department of Veterans
Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, once presented with evidence of the
experimentation, has also taken a leadership role in discovering the truth
regarding these exposures. VVA stands ready to take any action needed to
assure justice for these veterans."
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally
chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era
veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is "Never again will
one generation of veterans abandon another."
http://www.usnewswire.com
Contact: Mokie Porter of Vietnam Veterans of America,
301-585-4000, ext. 146
10/21 12:12
Sempers,
Roger