For generations, the military has been vaccinating soldiers for everything from tetanus to exotic tropical diseases. If troops had their suspicions back then, they were isolated and probably unaware that others shared their fears. But the advent of e-mail and the Web have enabled those opposed to the anthrax vaccine to join into an Internet insurrection. Today, hundreds of troops around the globe are refusing to take the needle, based almost entirely on information gleaned from their computers and modems. Thomas Rempfer, a pilot with the Connecticut Air National Guard who has been a leader of the anti-vaccine movement.
Troops now research medical journals online, share their misgivings and question their orders.
Information from the opponents, including instructions on contacting Congress, is handy on the Web. But Pentagon leaders say that the Web pages of the protesters contain incorrect data and that too many young troops are falling for what is essentially a hoax. There's an awful lot of just absolute nothing but rumor mongering. To fight back, the Pentagon has put forward a phalanx of its own sites. In the 1960s the Pentagon had to worry about civil disobedience.