Mike Halbig said he knows of no other Air Force personnel who have been court-martialed for refusing to get the anthrax shot. The Pentagon ordered the shot for all 1.5 million active-duty service members and 1 million reservists. Bettendorf, who has been at Travis Air Force Base a little more than two years, was told this week he would be court-martialed Friday for refusing orders to get the vaccine. Pentagon officials insist the vaccine is safe and military personnel must take it to be inoculated against deadly anthrax. Rogue nations such as Iraq are suspected of having a large cache of anthrax in their military arsenals.
Anthrax is an infectious disease that occurs naturally in livestock.
Its dry spores can be stored in weapons. Even microscopic amounts can be fatal. But Bettendorf and a growing list of other military personnel worry more about the possible side effects of the vaccine. It is suspected of being linked to Gulf War illness, a collection of maladies that include headaches, nausea and dizziness. Critics also worry the vaccine could lead to cancer, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome and infertility.