Project SHAD

Project SHAD, an acronym for Shipboard Hazard and Defense, was part of a larger effort called Project 112, which was conducted during the 1960s. Project SHAD encompassed tests designed to identify U.S. warships' vulnerabilities to attacks with chemical agents or biological warfare agents and to develop procedures to respond to such attacks while maintaining a war-fighting capability.

Exposures of uninformed and unwilling humans during the testing to the test substances, particularly the exposure to United States military personnel then in service, has added controversy to recent revelations of the project.

History
Project SHAD was part of a larger effort by the Department of Defense called Project 112. Project 112 was a biological and chemical experimentation project conducted by the United States Department of Defense and CIA handled by the Deseret Test Center and United States Army Chemical Materials Agency from 1962 to 1973. The project started under John F. Kennedy's administration, and was authorized by his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, as part of a total review of the US military. The name of the project refers to its number in the 150 review process. Every branch of the armed services and CIA contributed funding and staff to the project. Project 112 primarily concerned the use of aerosols to disseminate biological agents that could produce "controlled temporary incapacitation" (CTI). The test program would be conducted on a large scale at "extracontinental test sites" in the Central and South Pacific and Alaska in conjunction with Britain, Canada and Australia.

Mission
The official statement on Project SHAD's purpose was "...to identify U.S. war ships vulnerabilities to attacks with biological or chemical warfare agents and to develop procedures to respond to such attacks while maintaining a warfighting capability." 134 tests were planned initially, but reportedly, only 46 tests were actually completed. In these tests, chemical and biological agents were introduced to military personnel, who were at the time ignorant that they were involved in such an experiment. Nerve agents and chemicals include, but are not limited to, VX nerve gas, Tabun gas, Sarin, Soman, and the marker chemicals zinc cadmium sulfide, and QNB. Biologics include Bacillus globigii, Coxiella burnetti (which causes Q fever), and Francisella tularensis (which causes tularemia or 'rabbit fever').

Declassification
Revelations concerning Project SHAD were first exposed by independent producer and investigative journalist Eric Longabardi. Longabardi's 6-year investigation into the still secret program began in early 1994. It ultimately resulted in a series of investigative reports produced by him, which were broadcast on the CBS Evening News in May 2000. After the broadcast of these exclusive reports, the Pentagon and Veteran's Administration opened their own ongoing investigations into the long classified program. In 2002, Congressional hearings on Project SHAD, in both the Senate and House, further shed media attention on the program. In 2002, a class action federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of the US sailors exposed in the testing. Additional actions, including a multi-year medical study was conducted by National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine to assess the potential medical harm caused to the thousands of unwitting US Navy sailors, civilians, and others who were exposed in the secret testing. The results of that study were finally released in May 2007.

28 fact sheets have been released, focusing on the Deseret Test Center in Dugway, Utah, which was built entirely for Project SHAD and was closed after the project was finished in 1973.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has come under great scrutiny because those that were involved with Project 112 and SHAD were unaware of any tests being done. No effort was made to ensure the informed consent of the military personnel. Until 1998, the Department of Defense stated officially that Project SHAD did not exist. Because the DoD refused to acknowledge the program, surviving test subjects have been unable to obtain disability payments for health issues related to the project. US Representative Mike Thompson said of the program and the DoD's effort to conceal it, "They told me – they said, but don’t worry about it, we only used simulants. And my first thought was, well, you’ve lied to these guys for 40 years, you’ve lied to me for a couple of years. It would be a real leap of faith for me to believe that now you’re telling me the truth."

The Department of Veterans Affairs has commenced a three-year study comparing known SHAD-affected veterans to veterans of similar ages who were not involved in any way with SHAD or Project 112. The study cost approximately US$3 million, and results are being compiled for future release.

Ships

 * USS Carbonero (SS-337)
 * USS Berkeley (DDG-15)
 * USS Carpenter (DD-825)
 * USS Fechteler (DD-870)
 * USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30)
 * USS George Eastman (YAG-39)
 * USS Granville S. Hall (YAG-40)
 * USS Herbert J. Thomas (DD-833)
 * USS Hoel (DDG-13)
 * USS Navarro (APA-215)
 * USS Okanogan (APA-220)
 * USS Power (DD-839)
 * USNS Samuel Phillips Lee (T-AGS 31)
 * USNS Silas Bent (T-AGS 26)
 * USS Tioga County (LST-1158)
 * USS Wexford County (LST-1168)
 * US Navy Lighter Barge (YF-N-811)
 * US Navy Tug, ATF 105
 * US Army Light Tug LT-2080
 * US Army Light Tug LT-2081
 * US Army Light Tug LT-2085
 * US Army Light Tug LT-2086
 * US Army Light Tug LT-2087
 * US Army Light Tug LT-2088

Air units

 * Meteorological Research Service (contractor) C-47
 * US Navy Airborne Early Warning Barrier Squadron Pacific (AEWBarRonpac) Lockheed WV-2 / EC-121 Warning Star
 * US Navy Patrol Squadron Four (VP-4) (PATRON Four), Fleet Air Wing Four (Lockheed P-2 Neptune)
 * US Navy Patrol Squadron Six (VP-6) (PATRON SIX), Fleet Air Wing Two (Lockheed P-2 Neptune)
 * US Navy VU-1 Utility Squadron One, re-designated VC-1 Composite Squadron One on July 1, 1965. (Douglas A-4 Skyhawk)
 * USMC Marine Aircraft Group 13, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade. (McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, A-4 (Skyhawk), Sikorsky H-34 Seahorse
 * USMC Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 (HMM 161), Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) Sikorsky H-34 Seahorse
 * US Air Force 4533rd Tactical Test Squadron, US Air Force 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing (F-4E Phantom II)

Declassified documents
OSD & Joint Staff FOIA Requester Service Center
 * PROJECT SHAD -- AUTUMN GOLD, May 1964
 * PROJECT SHAD -- BIG JACK
 * PROJECT SHAD -- NIGHT TRAIN, December 1964