When the topic of military code talkers comes up, many think of the Navajo code talkers of World War II who operated as Marines in the Pacific Theater. This association was bolstered following the 2002 release of the film "Windtalkers," starring Nicholas
A nonprofit animal rights and medical ethics organization is suing the Defense Department for refusing to disclose details on its use of pigs and goats for medical training at four major military hospitals.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group of roughly 17,000 doctors who promote plant-based diets and aim to protect animals from research and testing, filed a federal lawsuit Oct. 23 seeking documents on medical training at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia; Madigan Army Medical Center, Washington; Darnall Army Medical Center, Texas; and Naval Medical Center San Diego.
The suit alleges that at least 80 invasive procedures, including stabbing and evisceration, have been conducted recently on the animals and the DoD has refused to release documents on the training despite a Freedom of Information Act request.
According to the group, the DoD has ignored the FOIA and has not responded to subsequent emails and phone calls on the inquiry.
"The violation of federal law -- of not producing this information in a timely manner, ignoring requests or just continually delaying it -- this lack of full transparency is concerning," said retired Navy[2] Cmdr. Erin Griffith, an emergency medicine physician and longtime PCRM member, in an interview with Military.com.
The DoD has had a policy in place since 2011 that limits the services' use of live animals for medical training if alternatives like advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers or actors can provide the same level of proficiency.
Using dogs, cats, nonhuman primates and marine mammals for such military medical training is generally prohibited under the directive.
In 2014, the Pentagon clarified the policy with an intention to "fully transition to the use of simulations" for most training, but it did not apply to combat or survival skills.
"Medical simulation technology will be used to the maximum extent practicable, before the use of live tissue training to train medical professionals and combat medics of the DoD," a 2019 update to the directive states. "The use of live tissue training within DoD may be used as determined necessary by the medical chain of command."
The Defense Department and the Navy declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. The Army[3] did not respond by publication.
Griffith said the PCRM suspects that the Pentagon violates its own policies, despite evidence showing that animal use is not as effective as state-of-the-art simulators.
Documentation obtained by PCRM noted that Naval Hospital Portsmouth uses 60 pigs a year in emergency medical training.
"Doing these trauma procedures requires you to know anatomy to do the procedures correctly. I don't have to tell you the differences of the anatomy of a pig and a human -- it's everything from how much pressure you need, how thick the skin is, to the shape," Griffith said. "It's definitely not human anatomy."
A 2022 Government Accountability Office report found that, while the DoD has taken steps to replace animals in trauma training, it has failed to show how well it is doing with this goal because it lacks measurable objectives for making assessments.
"DoD does not have performance measures upon which to rely when assessing DoD's programs in reducing its use of animals," GAO analysts wrote.
The GAO recommended that the DoD develop performance measures and clarify guidance to reduce and replace the use of animals in trauma training.
"By developing specific and measurable objectives and performance measures for monitoring progress, DoD could provide greater assurance that it could assess progress in increasing its use of alternatives to live animals during trauma training," they wrote.
In military journal articles and other publications, members of the U.S. defense community have said training with live animals is invaluable -- not just the medical treatment portion but the mental training needed to handle the emotional shock of violence.
"[Such] training also provides clinical and psychological 'conditioning for the horrors and chaos of war,'" a 2013 article in the Journal of Military and Veterans' Health states.
But Griffith, who has deployed to combat and trained on goats and pigs as a military emergency physician, said realistic, high-tech simulators cause equal levels of distress and the DoD "overestimates" the role a sedated animal plays in lieu of performing trauma treatment on a battle buddy.
"You can't in the moment be emotional about the tragedy of what has occurred. You have to tap into your training and the science and your education in order to best treat the patient," Griffith said. "I can tell you, having treated people in combat, that you rely on repetitive procedural training, which you can do over and over on a [human] simulator."
The group cites studies by the U.S. and Canadian militaries that show simulation training is as effective or even more so than practicing on animals. According to the group, 97% of emergency medicine residency programs -- 284 of the 292 programs -- surveyed in the U.S. and Canada train without animals, including emergency medicine programs affiliated with the Air Force[4] at Wright State University and the Army at the Medical College of Georgia.
The Air Force[1] overpaid $149,072 for ... (checks notes) ... hand soap dispensers, according to a new Pentagon watchdog report.
In all, the service accepted a 7,943% markup, or more than 80 times the commercially available cost, on the soap dispensers for its C-17 Globemaster II[2] aircraft, resulting in the hefty overpayment, the Defense Department inspector general said in the findings released Tuesday.
"The overall function of these soap dispensers is identical, whether used in a residential kitchen or bathroom, commercial restaurant bathrooms, or in an aircraft lavatory," the IG wrote in the report.
A whistleblower complaint about the Air Force overpaying for the dispensers on C-17s prompted the IG audit, and the findings show the service was grossly upcharged for a variety of parts.
"We initiated the audit in response to an allegation to the DoD Hotline concerning spare parts pricing," the IG said in a released statement. "The allegation stated that the Boeing Company (Boeing) overcharged the Air Force for a lavatory soap dispenser used on the C‑17."
Overall, the watchdog said that "the Air Force did not consistently pay reasonable prices for C-17 spare parts in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation."
The C-17 Globemaster is the Air Force's major cargo aircraft, utilized for everything from military transport to humanitarian missions. There are upward of 200 of the aircraft throughout the service, the report said.
The Pentagon watchdog examined 46 spare parts for the plane, including the soap dispenser, as part of its probe. Investigators found the Air Force overpaid about $1 million for a variety of parts.
The soap dispensers on the C-17s were perhaps the most damning example provided in the report. A photo of the purchased dispensers, as well as a widely available one that looks nearly identical, was provided as context in the report.
The report had some details redacted, such as the unit cost and the number purchased by the Air Force. Military.com found seemingly the same commercial soap dispenser pictured in the report on Amazon for $71.12.
Investigators found that the Air Force did not pay reasonable prices for 12 of the 46 parts reviewed, or 26%. Another nine parts, about 20% of them, were acceptable. But the service could not determine whether the pricing was acceptable for the remaining 25 parts, or 54%.
DoD Inspector General Robert Storch said the findings were concerning and could ultimately harm the Air Force's C-17 fleet.
"The Air Force needs to establish and implement more effective internal controls to help prevent overpaying for spare parts for the remainder of this contract, which continues through 2031," Storch said in a news release. "Significant overpayments for spare parts may reduce the number of spare parts that Boeing can purchase on the contract, potentially reducing C-17 readiness worldwide."
In another example, IG investigators pointed to an upcharge for a pressure transmitter, detailing a 3,556% markup -- more than 36 times the commercially available cost -- causing the Air Force to overpay $142,091.
Boeing told Military.com in an emailed statement it is reviewing the findings.
"We are reviewing the report, which appears to be based on an inapt comparison of the prices paid for parts that meet aircraft and contract specifications and designs versus basic commercial items that would not be qualified or approved for use on the C-17," Boeing told Military.com in an emailed statement. "We will continue to work with the OIG and the U.S. Air Force to provide a detailed written response to the report in the coming days."
The IG report made eight recommendations to the Air Force and defense contracting officials, including "requesting a technical analysis on bill of materials and forecasting systems, and for reviewing invoices before payment."
Two Marine Corps KC-130F, aerial refueling aircraft, are said to be haunted by Marines who worked and flew on them.
The KC-130F, introduced in 1962, was designed to do air-to-air refueling of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
This versatile aircraft has
When the topic of military code talkers comes up, many think of the Navajo code talkers of World War II who operated as Marines in the Pacific Theater. This association was bolstered following the 2002 release of the film "Windtalkers," starring Nicholas
Two Marine Corps KC-130F, aerial refueling aircraft, are said to be haunted by Marines who worked and flew on them.
The KC-130F, introduced in 1962, was designed to do air-to-air refueling of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
This versatile aircraft has