During the '60s and '70s the U.S. military conducted numerous tests involving the use of chemical and biological weapons. They were a part of a major U.S. military review initiated by then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in 1961 soon after President John F. Kennedy's became president. The purpose of the experiments was to learn more about potential combat uses of, and methods of defense against, biological and chemical weapons. The study was comprised of 150 separate projects conducted in Hawaii, Alaska, Maryland, Florida, Utah, Georgia, Panama, Canada, Britain and aboard ships in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In several cases civilians and U.S. servicemen were exposed to potentially lethal agents. [U.S. Department of Defense declassified fact sheets; KFOR, 4/25/03; New York Times 5/24/02; Associated Press 10/9/02; Reuters 10/10/02; Reuters 11/1/02; Associated Press, 7/1/03]

1964-1968. As part of the experiments, referred to as Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD), "nerve or chemical agents were sprayed on a variety of ships and their crews to gauge how quickly the poisons could be detected and how rapidly they would disperse, as well as to test the effectiveness of protective gear and decontamination procedures in use at the time." In several instances, there was no evidence that the servicemen had given the military consent to be part of the experiment. [New York Times 5/24/02]

1965-1967. As part of Project 112, the U.S. military performed a series of tests at the Gerstle River test site near Fort Greeley, Alaska, involving artillery shells and bombs filled with Sarin and VX, both of which are lethal nerve agents. The program was coordinated by the Desert Test Center, part of a "biological and chemical weapons complex" in the Utah desert. [Associated Press 10/9/02] Civilians may have been exposed to the gasses. [Reuters 10/10/02]

1965. As part of Project 112, the U.S. military sprayed a biological agent "believed harmless but later shown to infect those with damaged immune systems" on barracks in Oahu, Hawaii. The program was coordinated by the Desert Test Center, part of a "biological and chemical weapons complex" in the Utah desert. [Associated Press 10/9/02] Civilians may have been exposed to the gasses. [Reuters 10/10/02]

In May of 1967, the U.S. military tested the "effectiveness of artillery shells using Sarin in the jungle." The tests, code-named "Red Oak, Phase 1," were conducted in the Upper Waiakae Forest Reserve on Hawaii and near Fort Sherman in the Panama Canal Zone. According to reports released in late Oct. 2002, there was "no indication of harm to troops or civilians." [Reuters 11/1/02]

Sometime between 1962 and 1973. 'Tests' were also performed in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Its civilian population may have been exposed to dangerous chemical and/or biological weapons. [Reuters 10/10/02]

Sometime between 1962 and 1973. 'Tests' were also performed in Florida. The civilian population may have been exposed to dangerous chemical and/or biological weapons. [Reuters 10/10/02]

In 1962, the U.S. Government sprayed florescent particles of zinc cadmium sulfide over Stillwater, Oklahoma, but reportedly did not monitor how the application affected the populations. Author Leonard Cole explained to an Oklahoma TV news program: "Cadmium itself is known to be one of the most highly toxic materials in small amounts that a human can be exposed to If there were concentrations of it enough to make one sick, you could have serious consequences a person over a period of time could have illnesses that could range from cancer to organ failures." [KFOR, 4/25/03]

Shall I go on?