U.S. Army Reserve
Col. Robert G.F. Lee, commander, 9th Regional
Support Command, based in Hawaii, gets his
first anthrax immunization shot.
Anthrax-shot
opposition costs
some in military
A Pearl Harbor sailor is
By Gregg K. Kakesako
discharged, and 2 others
punished, for refusing to
take the inoculations
Star-BulletinA Pearl Harbor sailor has been discharged for refusing to take inoculations against the anthrax bio-warfare agent.
Lt. Cmdr. Conrad Chun, Pacific Fleet spokesman, said two other sailors - one submariner and the other serving on a surface warfare vessel - were given administrative punishments.
At Marine Corps Base Hawaii, two Kaneohe Marines are facing possible court-martial for refusing to take the anthrax inoculations.
Two other Marines, Lance Cpls. Adrian Chavis and Kevin Cryer, were court-martialed for disobeying a lawful order by not taking the anthrax vaccinations while the unit was deployed to Okinawa. Both were reduced in rank, fined and restricted to the base. Chavis also was given 45 days of extra duty.
Ten other Kaneohe Marines have been given administrative punishments, including fines, extra duty or demotion.
They are among the small but growing number of servicemen nationally who have refused to receive the vaccination and have been disciplined.
Outside Hawaii, about three dozen Marines and about 50 Air Force members, in addition to 23 sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, have refused the vaccinations. Nine members of the Connecticut Air National Guard resigned rather than take the shots.
Anthrax has never been used in combat, but the Pentagon fears Iraq, North Korea and other countries, or terrorist groups, might try. It can be produced as dry spores that, when inhaled, cause death within a few days.
Maj. Jeffrey Nyhart, Kaneohe spokesman, said no Marine here has been discharged for refusing the inoculations.
To date, 3,092 sailors and Seabees from 13 of Pearl Harbor's 22 submarines and four of the 22 warships berthed here have been inoculated.
Plans call for inoculating 2.4 million service members by 2003 under a program ordered by Defense Secretary William Cohen last year.
Initially, 20 Marines here refused to participate, Nyhart said. Since then, "six decided to take the shots," he said.
Among those at Kaneohe refusing to be inoculated against anthrax is Lance Cpl. Roman Lezo, a mechanic with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363. He is one of two Marines facing a possible court-martial.
Some 6,300 other Marines at the Windward Oahubase have taken the immunization shots, Nyhart said.
Nyhart said that, despite the fears of a small but vocal minority, the vaccination has been routinely used for the past 28 years and is safe.
Only the Marines and the Navy here reported problems in administering the immunization program, which requires six shots over 18 months followed by an annual booster.
All military services here say priority is given to those service members in Hawaii who may be deployed to high threat areas in Southwest Asia and Korea.
Since the inoculation program began in October, 650 of the 1,440 soldiers assigned to the Tripler Army Medical Center have gone through the first several phases.
Hickam Air Force Base reported that 479 of its 4,623 airmen and women have taken the shots.
The Pacific Army Reserve has begun giving the series of shots to 111 Army Reservists who will be participating in a mobilization exercise in South Korea later this month. In the Hawaii National Guard, only Air Guard personnel involved in exercises and deployments to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and South Korea have begun receiving inoculations.
None of the more than 9,200 soldiers at Schofield Barracks have taken any of the required shots.
Facts about a killer disease
What anthrax is: Disease associated with plant-eating animals, such as sheep, goats, cattle and swine. Once common, it now is controlled through animal vaccinations.
Source: U.S. Department of Defense
