For decades, the U.S. military has been accused of exposing service members and the public to chemical and biological warfare agents and simulants. Fears have been stoked by the Cold War's Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD) project, which exposed troops to nerve agents and worse. Then there's the the Bari incident, when soldiers were hit with mustard agent when Germans bombed U.S. ships in that Italian harbor. And let's not forget the late-50's field testing of LSD and other hallucinogens.
The Department of Defense (DOD) release of information on such efforts has been slow, sporadic, and uncoordinated at times. But now, the DOD is trying to consolidate this information, and ensure that the public -- especially those folks who may have been exposed to bad stuff -- can learn more about these efforts from the horse's mouth, so to speak. The DOD Force Health Protection & Readiness Policy and Program Office is sponsoring an easy-to-use web site that provides information on testing and potential exposure cases associated with chemical and biological warfare agents and simulants. The site breaks out the history into three periods - World War II, Project 112/SHAD cases, and other Cold War cases (which covers testing sites such as Fort Detrick, Edgewood Arsenal, and Dugway Proving Ground). Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, strategic communications director for the Military Health System, explained their intent.
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