Dear Representative, Senators, U.S. Army Medical Department / Military Health System, and Department of Defense:

I am concerned about the U.S. military's continued use of animal experiments. Chemical, biological and conventional warfare studies that rely upon animal models are outdated and excessively cruel. Yet every year the Department of Defense wounds and kills hundreds of thousands of primates, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, cats, and other animals.

In particular, animal tests to prepare combat medics for battlefield injuries waste time and money that could be spent on training within civilian trauma centers or simulator exercises. Instead, the military exhausts taxpayer dollars to amputate goats' legs, gun down and bomb pigs, and inject monkeys with toxins to mimic nerve gas strikes.

More than 90% of U.S. and Canadian teaching facilities use simulators only for Advanced Trauma and Life Support (ATLS) courses. Students learn emergency care equally, if not better, with human-focused applications. The American College of Surgeons endorses Simulab's TraumaMan, SimMan, human cadavers and other synthetic models.

I strongly urge my elected officials, the DoD, and all medical/heath Army personnel to advocate animal-free instruction. I especially urge my Senators and Rep to ask Dr. S. Ward Casscells, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, to modernize military medical practices. Replacing old-fashioned animal tests with more efficient and human-centric teaching tools benefits both animals and humans.

Dogs, pigs and other species are not people. Soldiers who learn about combat trauma and casualty management via non-human subjects deal with inconsistent variables. Incision pressure differs between species. Shape, angle, and texture of internal organs are also vastly incongruous. Why teach skills that don't apply directly to human beings?

Please prioritize animal-free medical training in the military.

Thank you,

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