http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/national/ap_anthrax05282003.htm

Reservist who refused vaccine found guilty of disobeying order

Associated Press

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

FORT DRUM, N.Y. - A military panel on Wednesday found an Army reservist guilty of disobeying an order for refusing to take an anthrax vaccine.

The panel of eight officers - only two of whom said during questioning that they have taken the six-shot regimen - took 40 minutes to return a guilty verdict against Pvt. Kamila Iwanowska.

Iwanowska, 26, admitted in a court ``stipulation of fact'' that she refused to follow the verbal and written orders of her commanding officers. Army prosecutors read a statement to the panel and rested their case without calling any witnesses.

``Good order and discipline and following orders is essential in the United States Army,'' Capt. Leslie Rowley said in a brief opening statement.

Rowley said Iwanowska's signed statement was all the proof the panel needed for a conviction.

Defense Attorney Capt. Jeremy Ball told panel members what was not in Iwanowska's statement is why she refused, ``and that's what this case is ultimately about.''

``I still believe the Army is a good place and I don't regret joining,'' Iwanowska said after the verdict. ``I don't regret what I did, I just wish it had turned out differently.''

``I'm pretty much alone in my actions but talking to other soldiers I'm not necessarily alone in my feelings,'' she said. ``I wish I was overseas with my unit. They have prevented me from doing my job. I was ready to deploy without the shot.''

Ball said he planned to call Iwanowska and several other witnesses during the sentencing phase, which began late Wednesday morning.

After the verdict, her mother, Elizabeth Kurek from Mt. Pocono, Pa., said: ``My daughter is a brave girl, is a good girl.''

Since the anthrax vaccinations were made mandatory for all U.S. military personnel in 1998, hundreds of service members have been disciplined or discharged for refusing to take the shot. At least 37 have been court martialed.

The vaccinations were ordered because of worry that Iraq and other nations hostile to the United States are developing anthrax weapons.

Airborne anthrax can kill within days of inhalation. Anthrax attacks in the United States last fall killed five people and raised questions about whether civilians might need the vaccine.

Iwanowska, of New York City, was charged with disobeying an order to get the anthrax vaccine after reporting for pre-deployment processing with her unit in January. The unit was headed to southwest Asia; a specific location was not released. After being brought up on disciplinary charges by her company commander, Iwanowska was twice ordered to take the vaccine by Col. Emory Helton, the garrison commander, but refused.

Iwanowska, who is Polish and became an American citizen last year, told her superiors that she considered the shot medically dangerous to children she might have in the future, saying the long-term effects of the anthrax vaccine are unknown. As a Roman Catholic, she also cited religious reasons for refusing it.

The Pentagon insists the vaccination is safe, with severe adverse reactions developing in about one in 100,000 vaccinations. Anthrax is a naturally occurring virus that typically affects sheep and cattle. When inhaled, dry anthrax spores can be deadly to humans.

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