Army experimentation

The U.S. army experimental studies cited herein were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, and aU procedures were conducted in accordance with the principles stated in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-544), as amended. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy of the army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. 

Aircraft Reactors. As early as World War II, the U.S. Army Air Force considered the use of a nuclear reactor for the propulsion of aircraft (62—64). In 1946 the nuclear energy for propulsion of aircraft (NEPA) program was set up at Oak Ridge, under Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. Basic theoretical and experimental studies were carried out. The emphasis was on materials. A high temperature reactor was built and operated successfiiUy. 

M. J. Rosenfield, Construction of Experimental Polyvinyl Chloride (PHC) Koofing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Champaign, Dl., 1984. 

Experimental studies with southern armyworm larvae and thiocyanate — one of the in vivo cyanide metabolites — showed that 5000 mg thiocyanate/kg diet reduced pupation by 77%, completely inhibited oviposition, and reduced adult emergence by 80% (Brattsten et al. 1983), strongly suggesting that thiocyanate poisoning is the primary effect of high dietary cyanide levels in southern army worms. 

Volz R. D., and Kiger, S A., "An Evaluation of the separated Bay Concept for a Munition Assembly Complex An Experimental Investigation of the Department of Energy Building 12-64 Complex," Technical Report SL-83-6, U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, Sept. 1983. 

Figure 11. Most recent facility using the PBA concept for limited production/experimental filling of standard and new munitions and canisters. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army.

Albert H. Coons (Fig. 1.2) was the first who attached a fluorescent dye (fluorescein isocyanate) to an antibody and used this antibody to localize its respective antigen in a tissue section. The concept of putting a visible label on an antibody molecule appeared both bold and original. His initial results were described in two brief papers in the early 1940s (Coons et al. 1941,1942), but the research was halted while he joined the army and spent the next 4 years in the South Pacific. His later studies (Coons and Kaplan 1950) contributed immensely to the use of the fluorescent antibody method in a wide variety of experimental settings. In our time, the use of antibodies to detect and localize individual or multiple antigens in situ has developed into a powerful research tool in almost every field of biomedical research (http //books.nap.edu/html/biomems/acoons.pdf). 

Inducements, incidentally, are part of almost every experimental program, in or out of the Army. Newspaper ads recruiting volunteers for similar civilian experiments usually promise a monetary reward. Sometimes compensation comes as a health benefit - free therapy with a new drug along with free... 

TRW Systems, Inc., conducted a laboratory-scale incineration study for the U.S. Army from 1973 to 1975 (9). Eleven individual pesticide formulations and three mixed pesticide formulations containing six different active ingredients (chlordane, 2,4-D, DDT, dieldrin, lindane, and 2,4,5-T) were incinerated in a liquid injection incinerator. The experimental apparatus consisted of a fuel atomizer, combustion chamber, afterburner, quench chamber, and scrubber unit. Destruction efficiencies exceeded 99.99% for a minimum 0.4-s residence time at temperatures above 1000°C with 45 to 60% excess air. 

Grant, C. L., T. F. Jenkins, and S. M. Golden. Experimental Assessment of Analytical Holding Times for Nitroaromatic and Nitramine Explosives in Soil. SR 93-11, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH June 1993. 

Hoff, G. (1972). Practical Applications of Expanding Cements, CTIAC Report 8 US Army Engineer Waterways Experimental Station, Miss., USA. 

The Department of the Army asked the Committee on Toxicology, In the Board on Toxicology and Environmental Health Hazards of the Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council (NRC) to conduct a study of the possible chronic adverse health effects on servicemen of experimental exposure to various chemicals at the U.S. Army Laboratories (formerly the Army Chemical Center), Edgewood,... 

Oberst, F.W., Musselman, N.P., Graf, C.H., Trapp, G.A., and Dawson, P.B. Protection afforded by experimental XXCC3-impregnated Navy work/combat clothing worm by men exposed to mustard vapor. U.S. Army Chemical Research and Development Laboratories, Edgewood Arsenal, Md. Technical Report CRDLR 3254. 1965. 23 p. 

N.B., Drew, D.A., Sinmonds, J.S., and Vancil, M.E. Protection afforded by an experimental zippered hood (E33R4) and the standard M6Al hood worn by men in mustard vapor. U.S. Army Medical Research Laboratory. Edgewood Arsenal, Md. Technical Report EATR 4031. 1966. 26 p. 

Human experimentation appears to have been an integral part of the history of the U.S. Army chemical warfare (CW) research efforts until its suspension in 1975. On June 28, 1918, the President directed the establishment of the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS). 

The issue of the use of human volunteers was considered by the Armed Forces Medical Policy Council during the early 1950 s. The Council concluded that essential data could not be obtained unless human volunteers were used, and the use of humans in medical research was authorized. By 1954, the Chemical Corps (formerly CWS) had established a framework within which to conduct human experimentation, but it lacked an adequate pool of volunteers. In 1955, it was decided that the most practical source of volunteers would be enlisted men stationed at Army installations in the vicinity of Edgewood Arsenal. 

ANprefix, dentoes a standardized item for use by both Army Navy B suffix, denotes a standardized variation of a standard item, denoting usually method of manuf or material E suffix, denotes an experimental variation of either exptl or standardized item M suffix, followed by number (such as Ml,... 

The firing mechanism (instead of hydrostatic pistol) was housed in a well at one end of the case. It was probably used on suicide boats (qv) Type 3 120 Kilogram Army Depth Charge (Experimental) was 24V inches long and 15% inches in diameter, filled with 200 lbs of HE (no data). It was fired by a pull igniter instead... 

Laser-guided bombing. A guidance concept devised developed by MICOM (US Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama) scientists applicable to bombs, rockets, missiles St artillery shells. The Army technology Si experimental hardware were subsequently used by the Air Force to develop their laser-guided " smart bomb" Army Navy laser-guided missiles have demonstrated unprecedented accuracy in dozens of applications (Ref 3)... 

ASAES Army Small Arms Experimental Station... 

We would like to thank Dr. O. J. Eder for sending us the experimental results and Prof. S. H. Chen for helpful discussions. This work was supported by Project SQUID of the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, and Army Research Office, Durham. We are also grateful to V. F. Sears and B. Berne for calling to our attention an incorrect statement in the original manuscript. 

T n 1962 the U. S. Army opened at its Natick Laboratories in Natick, Mass., the world s largest irradiation laboratory (2) for preserving foods by ionizing energy (Figure 1). This laboratory is unique in that, in addition to having two radiation sources, a 24-m.e.v., 18-kw. electron linear accelerator and a 1,250,000-curie cobalt-60 isotope source, it includes a food development-preparation laboratory and an experimental development kitchen (Figure 2). 

Before construction of this laboratory the Army depended upon industrial and national laboratories to provide irradiation services on a contractual basis. This procedure lacked the complete control over experiments that is obtained if all functions are housed in one facility, where scientists of the various disciplines can freely discuss experimental designs and results. 

Recommendation 3-2. The Army should obtain experimental data on the behavior of frozen mustard rounds fed into the metal parts furnace (MPF). At a minimum, these data should demonstrate that ... 

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