On The Front Lines
TRI Defends Air Force Sgt. Punished for Speaking Out About Anthrax Vaccine
Insisting Issue Is of Vital Public Concern, Institute Attorneys Ask That Sgt. Adkins Be Given Day in CourtWILMINGTON, Del. -- Rebutting efforts by Department of Defense officials to dismiss the case of an Air Force Sergeant who was sanctioned after voicing concerns that he could be suffering the ill effects of a tainted anthrax vaccine, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to allow the case to move forward. Institute attorneys filed suit in federal district court in 2004 in defense of the First Amendment rights of Sgt. Jason Adkins, a decorated airman who served on the first C-5 aircraft flown into Baghdad in the recent Iraq War and other numerous classified special operations missions. In February 2005, Department of Defense officials filed a motion to have the case dismissed. In their reply brief requesting that the case move forward and Sgt. Adkins be given his day in court, Institute attorneys pointed out that the military is not above the law in our system of government and citizens in uniform should not be stripped of their basic constitutional rights simply because they have doffed civilian clothes. The First Amendment free speech retaliation suit, which named Adkins' supervisors in the Air Force, as well as James Roche, the Secretary of the Air Force, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and others, was filed in federal district court in Wilmington, Del., by Institute affiliate attorneys Thomas S. Neuberger and Stephen J. Neuberger of the Neuberger Firm.
"Sgt. Adkins felt it was his moral duty as a Christian to speak out against this injustice, and he should be commended for his bravery," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "If left unaddressed, the military's actions could very well give rise to a dangerous chilling effect on the free speech of our servicepeople."
All U.S. troops deployed overseas are required by the military to take a series of six or more anthrax vaccinations. Sgt. Adkins, a C-5 aircraft flight engineer, received eight inoculations. However, testing by the Food and Drug Administration discovered squalene in six of the inoculations administered to Sgt. Adkins. Research indicates that even trace amounts of squalene can stimulate the immune system, causing arthritis, neurological problems, memory loss and incapacitating migraine headaches. In keeping with flight safety protocol, on Oct. 21, 2004, Sgt. Adkins reported to the Dover Air Force Base flight surgeon with a "crippling" headache and was subsequently grounded from a scheduled flight mission. Since his first day in the Air Force, Sgt. Adkins has been trained in one basic sacred safety principle--that flight officers with unsafe medical conditions are not to fly. Even during a flight, if crew members become ill or overly tired, they are encouraged to declare 'safety of flight,' at which point they are relieved of their duties, no questions asked, and always without any fear of discipline or repercussions. However, shortly after reporting to the flight surgeon, Sgt. Adkins was given a career-ending written reprimand and accused of dereliction of duty and faking his medical condition, allegedly in retaliation for having voiced his concerns that he might be suffering effects of the experimental anthrax vaccine. Other military personnel have since echoed Sgt. Adkins' concerns about the effects of the tainted vaccine.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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