The Boring and the questionable

Life has settled into some type of routine for Seth.....there's four days in the tower, two days off, four days in the tower, one day off, four days in the tower two days off, four days in the tower, one day off....you get the idea....Understand that those days off are in name only. Talk about being "off" and most people think about putting their feet up, relaxing, watching a little TV, cutting the grass if you can't figure a way out of it. At Bagram, a day off really only means a day away from the tower - which as far as I can tell, means alot! It's hard to stay hooah motivated when you do little but stand and stare for 12 hours a day. On Seth's days off he is usually on call for patrols, attending training or cleaning weapons. Anything is better than the tower however.
Ah....but there was some excitement this week. Monday, Seth and his pals were called to formation early and marched to the clinic where they proceeded to give the soldiers shots. Most soldiers have that military mind-set of accept the shot and move on. Not my dear son. When it was his turn, he asked what he was receiving and was told it was an Anthrax Vaccine. Seth politely said "No Thank You" and moved on. In case you're not up on the news about the Anthrax Vaccine (and why would you be) it's been a little controversial (which is like saying the coming election has been a little nasty) with pending lawsuits and legislation and all that good stuff. The nutshell version is this:
Concern about bioterrorism has led to the mass vaccination of our military for anthrax. In theory, this sounds like a good idea, except the vaccine is old, has not been adequately tested and may actually be unsafe. The program has moved forward in fits and starts for the last couple of years. Good information on the concerns about the vaccine can be viewed at www.milvacs.org if your really interested. Anyway, to make a very long story short Seth's refusal meant he had to attend an education class about the vaccine and if he still refused he would receive "counseling." My idea of counseling involves a large officer telling Seth "we're going to punish you boy if you don't get with the program!"
Luckily for Seth, a federal judge halted the anthrax vaccination program yesterday. The Department of Defense has temporarily stopped giving the vaccine to soldiers until the legal problems can be worked out. There are many people working to stop this program. You can help by writing you senators and congressmen and urging them to support House Bill 5166. Basically this bill gives soldiers the right to informed consent meaning that they can decide based on the risks and benefits of the vaccine to take it or leave it. It's a right that all citizens have. It also stipulates that experimental drugs may not be used on soldiers (like we should have to have a law to keep that from happening.)
That's about all for now. Thanks for reading.