According to Pentagon health officials, the FDA has issued a “final order” that says the anthrax vaccine will prevent a person from getting anthrax whether the exposure method is inhalation or any other means. The Pentagon statement says DOD will “review program options” but continue voluntary vaccinations for the present. A court order in 2004 had placed a hold on the Pentagon’s mandatory program, pending a final ruling from the FDA. At the time, the FDA disputed that an earlier ruling was insufficient.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…