Newsday.com Fort Drum soldier punished for refusing vaccine.htm

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Newsday.com: Fort Drum soldier punished for refusing vaccineSnip: " Hazley, of

East Dublin, Ga., refused the shot because she is breast-feeding her child " .

Snip: " Iwanowska, a recently naturalized Polish immigrant, objected because she

feared the vaccination could have adverse effects on her reproductive system and

her ability to have a baby " .

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Fort Drum soldier punished for refusing vaccine

April 4, 2003, 5:31 PM EST

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- The Army has court-martialed a 36-year-old 10th Mountain

Division soldier for refusing to be vaccinated against anthrax and influenza,

Fort Drum officials said Friday.

Pvt. Rhonda Hazley, a wheeled-vehicle mechanic with 514th Maintenance Company,

was convicted March 21 by a summary court martial of disobeying the orders of an

officer and a noncommissioned officer, said Col. Caslen, the division's

chief of staff.

The court martial reduced her three grades in rank to private. She also was

ordered to serve 14 days confinement, Caslen said.

" This is a force protection issue, " Caslen said. " We expect service members to

comply with administration of all mandatory vaccines. Service members who do not

comply with these measures endanger their own health and place both their unit

and mission accomplishment at risk. "

Hazley, of East Dublin, Ga., refused the shot because she is breast-feeding her

child, friend Ingram told WWTI-TV, a local television station. Hazley

joined the Army in April 1999 and was assigned to Fort Drum six months later.

Sheila Kennedy, another friend, said Hazley re-enlisted last fall.

Fort Drum spokesman Lt. Col. Hilferty said he could not comment on the

reason for Hazley's refusal.

Meanwhile, Kamila Iwanowska, a 26-year-old reservist from New York City, also

faces a special court martial for refusing to receive the anthrax vaccine, The

Watertown Daily Times reported Friday.

Hilferty confirmed that Iwanowska refused the vaccine but he could not say

whether any disciplinary proceedings had been brought against her.

Iwanowska, a recently naturalized Polish immigrant, objected because she feared

the vaccination could have adverse effects on her reproductive system and her

ability to have a baby, her lawyer, Lionel , told The Associated Press.

" There's no question the Army is proceeding properly, " said , a retired

Army lieutenant colonel. " It's just an unfortunate situation.

" She's not opposed to going to Iraq. She's willing to do her job. She is just

adamantly opposed to this particular vaccination, " he said.

Iwanowska reported to Fort Drum in January and was receiving pre-deployment

training, he said.

Iwanowska and Hazley are not alone with their concerns. However, the Army could

not immediately provide figures for how many soldiers have refused the anthrax

vaccination or how many others have been court martialed for their refusal, said

Army Public Affairs spokeswoman Elaine Kanellis.

The Pentagon insists the vaccination is safe, with severe adverse reactions

occurring in about one in 100,000 vaccinations.

Anthrax is a naturally occurring virus that typically affects sheep and cattle.

Dry anthrax spores, when inhaled, can be deadly to humans.

The Bush administration has said that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has anthrax

and may use it against U.S. troops.

In February, two Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton in California refused to

take the anthrax vaccine. Both men were deployed to the Middle East and have

court martials pending upon their return.

In 2001, Air Force Capt. Buck was given 60 days of base restriction and

fined $21,000 for refusing the anthrax vaccine while stationed at Kessler Air

Force Base in Mississippi.

Buck and former Air Force Maj. Sonnie Bates filed a lawsuit last year against

the Bush administration and the Pentagon challenging the mandatory anthrax

vaccines for the nation's 2.4 million service members.

Bates refused the vaccine in 1999 while stationed at Dover Air Force Base in

Delaware and was forced to end his 14-year military career and pay a fine.

Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press