The NY Times had a story today about how the Pentagon recently released documents detailing their spraying of nerve agents and biological agents on US servicemen. Classy. You join up for a shitty job in the military thinking you’re doing your patriotic duty and then your own government purposely acts with disregard for your life by using you as a human guinea pig.
Of the six tests, three used sarin, a nerve agent, or VX, a nerve gas; one used staphylococcal enterotoxin B, known as SEB, a biological toxin; one used a simulant believed to be harmless but subsequently found to be dangerous; and one used a nonpoisonous simulant.
The thing about spraying all soldiers with nerve gas is to my knowledge an urban legend, but in basic training, all army recruits ARE sprayed with tear gas, a known carcinogen, to check to see if they know how to put their gas masks on correctly, which would make sense if the test did not involve taking their gas masks off. I don’t think most people have any idea how many constitutional rights soldiers give up upon enlistment. It’s really frightening.