April 2005

The Institute of Medicine (IOM), an independent, non-governmental organization, is under contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to study the current health of participants in the 19 Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD) tests and compare their health with that of a comparable group of non-participant veterans. SHAD was a series of tests conducted by the Department of Defense (DoD) in the 1960s to investigate the effectiveness of shipboard detection of and protection procedures against chemical and biological warfare agents, including sarin, VX and organisms that cause tularemia and Q fever. Live chemical and biological agents were used, as well as simulants such as zinc cadmium sulfide and bacillus globigii (BG)—which, at the time, were thought to be harmless. The IOM study is intended to shed light on whether participation in Project SHAD tests is statistically associated with current health problems.

The IOM study staff is asking any veteran who thinks he or she was involved in Project SHAD testing to contact them. You may fill out the form below and mail it to Project SHAD Study, Institute of Medicine (Keck 776), 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001. Responses must be received by August 31, 2005.

The information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to validate your participation in Project SHAD and establish a current address at which you can be reached and offered an opportunity to be included in the study if your Project SHAD participation can be validated. You may specifically direct that the information NOT be shared with the Department of Defense as part of the validation process by checking “no” in item 10 on the form.

If you have already received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs concerning Project SHAD participation you do not need to fill out the form and will automatically be offered an opportunity to be included in the IOM study.

Although the Project SHAD tests were originally classified, DoD has declassified information about the tests and made it publicly available. The IOM study staff has received a list of Project SHAD participants from DoD and is attempting to find any additional unidentified Project SHAD participants. Units known to have incomplete participant rosters include the crews of Army tugs, the Project SHAD Technical Staff, and several unidentified Air Force and Marine aviation units. Further details on the study may be found on the study’s website (http://www.iom.edu/project.asp?id=4909), and you may call the IOM study staff on their toll-free number, 1-800-556-9896. Further details regarding Project SHAD may be found on DoD’s DeploymentLINK website at: http://www.deploymentlink.osd.mil/current_issues/shad/shad_intro.shtml, or the Department of Veterans Affairs website: http://www1.va.gov/shad/.

I am writing this letter to inform you of our ongoing study of the health of participants in Project SHAD (shipboard hazard and defense) and to enlist your aid in identifying Project SHAD participants. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), an independent, non-governmental organization, is under contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to study the current health of participants in the 19 Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD) tests and compare their health with that of a comparable group of non-participant veterans. SHAD was a series of tests conducted by the Department of Defense (DoD) in the 1960s to investigate the effectiveness of shipboard detection of and protection procedures against chemical and biological warfare agents, including sarin, VX and organisms that cause tularemia and Q fever. Live chemical and biological agents were used, as well as simulants such as zinc cadmium sulfide and bacillus globigii (BG)—which, at the time, were thought to be harmless. The IOM study is intended to shed light on whether participation in Project SHAD tests is statistically associated with current health problems.

Enclosed is a letter explaining in more detail the study as well as a form for potential Project SHAD participants to fill out and mail to us. Please note that there is no charge for participating in the study. You may distribute the enclosed letter to your members as you think appropriate.

If you have any questions about the study or our outreach letter, please contact me by email (wpage@nas.edu or toll-free telephone number 1-800-556-9896). Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Mr. William A. Boettcher

AMVETS

4647 Forbes Boulevard

Lanham, MD 20706-4380

Mr. James E. Sursely

Disabled American Veterans

3725 Alexandria Pike

Cold Springs, KY 41076

Mr. George R. Kaye

Fleet Reserve Association

125 N. West Street

Alexandria, VA 20024-2410

Ms. Helen F. Hicks

Marine Corps League

8626 Lee Highway

Suite 201

Fairfax, VA 22031

Mr. John Dorrity

National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, Inc.

2200 Wilson Blvd.

Suite 102-530

Arlington, VA 22301-3324

BG (Ret) Leslie E. Beavers Beavers

National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs

Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs

1111 Louisville Road

Frankfort, KY 40601

Mr. H. Gene Overstreet

Non Commissioned Officers Association

10635 IH 35 North

San Antonio, TX 78233

Mr. Randy L. Pleva, Sr.

Paralyzed Veterans of America

801 18th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006

Military Officers Association of America

201 N. Washington Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

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