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.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…