Nearly Half Of The Pilots In Memphis Air Guard Refuse Anthrax Vaccinations

by Lela Garlington

Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal

October 5, 1999

As many as 22 pilots, almost half of the 50 pilots in the unit, are refusing to take anthrax vaccinations ordered for the Memphis Air Guard.

Another 38 part-time servicemen also are refusing to take the series of six shots, according to numbers released Monday by the 164th Airlift Wings of the Tennessee Air National Guard.

The 60 servicemen "have requested to be released from the unit due to concerns over the anthrax vaccination program,'' according to a press release.

Any impact of the possible releases is still being assessed, Maj. Lamar Spencer, executive officer of the 164th Airlift Wing, said Monday evening.

''This shouldn't have a huge impact on us because we are never at 100 percent in terms of people in the unit at one time,'' he said. Spencer has said he was pleased with the number of Guardsmen who opted to take the shots. About 85 percent of the Memphis unit - 813 members -have started the series of shots.

Anthrax is a virulent disease that normally afflicts cattle and sheep. A dried form of anthrax spores can be loaded onto artillery shells, bombs and missiles or can be sprayed from planes over battlefields. When inhaled by humans, pneumonia-like symptoms develop within 72 hours, and death results in a week in about 99 percent of cases.

Airmen assigned to the unit had until noon Sunday to begin taking the vaccinations. So far, only four people in the unit officially have been released from duty. One resigned, two transferred to another Air Guard wing, and one retired. Each request to be released from the unit will be decided by the state adjutant general. It is expected to take personnel specialists several weeks to sort through the requests.

The Pentagon ordered the vaccinations for units facing possible future deployment to Middle East or Asia. The move also prompted refusals and resignations in Air National Guard cargo, tanker and fighter units in Connecticut, New York, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

The military plans to inoculate all 2.4 million members of the armed forces by 2002.