The Army Fighting Autism? The Department of Defense?

On December 4, 2008 David Kirby wrote an article full of excellent questions and information, “The Pentagon – A Voice of Reason on Vaccines and Autism?”. You can read it HERE or HERE or HERE.

If we are going to send in the Army to fight autism, these brave soldiers need to know they will be fighting the Department of Defense.

This past week I learned that, “For immunization requirements, the Air Force follows the CDC recommendations, which are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)”, and that every single vaccine on the CDC’s recommended schedule is mandated for children who are attending military installation Child Development Centers, Family Child Care and School Age Programs. This includes the flu vaccine for infants as young as six months. You can read the Memorandum HERE . (My apologies as it is not the best copy)

This information came to me last week by way of an email. A fellow Air Force mom needed help and support in obtaining an exemption for her children who have egg allergies and have had systemic adverse vaccine reactions previously. They have done nothing but give this mom who has a BSN and MBA, the runaround. I have seen what they’ve done, and it is completely unacceptable.

Over two days ago, I sent an email to Ms. Eliza Nesmith requesting that she “provide me with studies that have been conducted demonstrating safety and efficacy of the kind and number of vaccines that are now mandated for children attending, including the flu vaccine now required for babies as young as six months old.” I have heard nothing from her. When folks at the Pentagon are out of the office, you always receive an auto-reply. If, “all CDC recommendations should be instituted as AF-wide requirements and should not be dependent upon local law”, I expect an answer to my question. If my child is enrolled in a military installation child care or school age program, federal vaccination mandates have taken away my God given right to make health care decisions for my children, and I do not appreciate that one little bit. Vaccination is the only mandated and invasive medical procedure, why is this?

The CDC recommendations for vaccination are not just instituted as Air Force requirements to attend child care or school age programs, but are requirements for the same through all branches of service. This is not an Air Force problem; this is a Department of Defense problem.

US Army Colonel Renata J. M. Engler, MD, Director of the Vaccine Healthcare Centers, (a "collaborative network" of the Defense Department and the CDC), wrote to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) (HERE) , "We have preliminary findings from one of our many on-going research studies that suggest a relationship between adverse events and multiple vaccinations exist. These findings will require validation, but heighten our concern for the current clinical practice of multiple vaccinations."

If there is heightened concern that a relationship exists between adverse events (including autism) HERE and multiple vaccinations, then why in the world is the Department of Defense mandating the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule for military children? Especially considering Dr. Engler also said, “However, our work over the past years has been humbling in relation to the knowledge gaps which the Institute of Medicine Reports has also highlighted.”

UPDATE: After David Kirby's article HERE and this article were sent to certain officials the original link (above) now looks like this GO HERE

Although I am not sure when, I know as of 2004 the military was checking titers to disease prior to recruits receiving vaccines in Basic Military Training (BMT). It is therefore reasonable to ponder that children (both military and civilian) are receiving far more vaccines (and I mean vaccines – not injections) at one visit than our military members receive at one time. Titer testing saved my husband from receiving vaccines against five different diseases in BMT.

It is obviously beneficial for the Department of Defense to check titers against disease in potential members. Is this monetarily beneficial, beneficial to the future members health, or are they one and the same? If it wasn’t one or the other, or the same, they wouldn’t be doing it.

Does it therefore not make monetary and health wise sense for ALL children to spread our vaccines? Would it not make monetary and healthwise sense to restore the vaccine schedule of say, 1983 (HERE), starting at four or six months instead of two, substituting the OPV for IPV, DTP for DtaP, and checking titers before proceeding with further vaccination? And to get rid of the RhoGam shot until after birth like it was previously as well? Infants are not only born with immunity to certain diseases, but have continued immunity to those diseases while breastfeeding. I am a breastfeeding mother to a 26 month old UNVACCINATED child and I know and see and live, how immunity works!

We have an epidemic of unprecendented proportions on our hands and in our homes and schools around the globe! The autism epidemic, and the autism epidemic continues to grow with each passing minute.

I received an email last night from a good friend in which they said, “The only possible conclusion at this time is that the US vaccine schedule is dangerous and un-monitored. It is a government program that has run off the tracks. Nuts! One government branch says one thing and another says something completely different”. My response was this, “It is scary for me to think about where this is all going to go to stop the program that is off the tracks. It is dangerous that's for sure. But they think they're doing a fantastic job... of monitoring themselves. It is not just nuts! It is Insane!

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting different results.”
Rita Mae Brown

It’s time to do something different. Government officials on all levels keep adding vaccines to the recommended schedule. They continually assure us while they don’t know what causes autism; they KNOW it is not caused by vaccines. It seems there is much truth to Rita Mae Brown’s words.

A few goodies for military parents. Need childcare where you will have state exemptions available…possibly more? GO HERE for options!

Need base childcare? Here’s the bottom line. The medical exemption is the usual and stands, but that “administrative exemption” which is “rarely, if ever granted”, is the religious exemption which must be on letterhead from your clergy stating the grounds for exemption, and I was informed today from a local Army base and by a person in a position to make such a statement, “We don’t mess with either of those”, meaning the medical or what the Air Force calls “administrative” exemption. So if you have either exemption, do the paper work, and do it right.

Yes, I think the Army is ready to fight the autism epidemic. I know the Marine Corps, and Navy have led the way as well, when it comes to fighting autism. It’s all documented on Autism Salutes. My only question is where is the Air Force? I think we may need some Air support on this one!

As an Air Force spouse, I say: The Department of Defense might be working, but it isn't working fast, hard, nor diligently enough given the crisis of the autism epidemic!