Marine kicked out for refusing anthrax vaccine

Associated Press (Feb. 1, 2001)

Air Force Times

February 12, 2001 edition

A Marine Corps firefighter has been demoted and given a bad conduct discharge for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine. Lance Cpl. Ocean T. Rose was court-martialed on Jan. 31 after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt legal proceedings against him.A five-member jury of officers at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Calif., convicted Rose after two days of testimony. In addition to the discharge, he was reduced in rank to pay grade E-1.Rose is one of more than 350 members of the military who have refused to take the anthrax vaccine over concerns about possible health effects. Some who have taken the shots have complained about fevers, muscle pain and dizziness.In 1998, the Department of Defense ordered active duty and reserve troops to get the vaccine in a series of six shots. Military authorities maintain the vaccine is safe.Rose, 20, a Marine Corps firefighter from Georgia, took the first two of the six shots before refusing to accept further inoculations. He testified that he researched the vaccine and spoke with his mother and other relatives before deciding to refuse the order.“The problem is they haven’t tested it enough for me to put it in my body,” Rose told the military jury and judge. “I had to do a lot of soul searching.”Lawyers for Rose asked the Supreme Court to halt the proceedings until the nation’s highest court had a chance to rule on some of the legal issues raised by the prosecutions of Rose and other service members who have refused to take the vaccine. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist rejected the request without comment. Rose’s lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.