February 16, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Dover AFB, DE) Today the Air Force announced that it will not proceed with a court-martial against Major Sonnie Bates for his refusal to take the Department of Defense's mandatory anthrax vaccine. Instead, Major Bates will present his concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of the anthrax vaccine to his commander, in this case the commander of 21st Air Force at McGuire Air Force Base, NJ, in a non-judicial proceeding allowed under Article 15 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Major Bates made the following statement regarding this development:
"By selecting a non-judicial forum I will have an opportunity to present my case as I have always wanted to -- within the military chain of command -- to the commander of 21st Air Force. The move from a court-martial to a non-judicial forum only changes the venue where my concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the anthrax vaccine will be heard. In selecting this venue there is no presumption of guilt and I have every confidence that when presented with the weight of the evidence, the Air Force leadership will come to the same conclusions about the vaccine that I have. I am gratified that the Air Force leadership shares my belief that these issues should be resolved in a forum other than a criminal prosecution. I have always said that this is a safety issue and should be treated accordingly."
In a closely related development, tomorrow Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT), chairman of the National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relations subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee, will release an 80-page bipartisan report on the DoD anthrax vaccination immunization policy (AVIP). It is expected that this report will be critical of the Department of Defense and will call for a suspension of the DoD anthrax vaccination policy.
A date for Major Bates' non-judicial hearing with the 21st Air Force commander has not been set.
Further information on Major Bates' case and the DoD anthrax vaccination policy can be found at www.majorbates.com.