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[61]Defense

The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate `Havana Syndrome'

The testing looks to see if directed energy on ferrets can replicate
the mysterious ailment suffered by U.S. personnel.
A light shines on the seal of the Department of Defense.

The yearlong study, which is funded from Sept. 30 of last year to Sept.
29 of this year, is part of DoD's continuing effort to determine the
cause of the mysterious incidents. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images

By [62]Lara Seligman

03/09/2023 04:46 PM EST
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The Defense Department is funding experiments on animals to determine
if radio frequency waves could be the source of the mysterious ailment
referred to as "Havana Syndrome" that has afflicted hundreds of U.S.
government personnel in recent years, according to public documents and
three people familiar with the effort.

This news of the ongoing animal testing, which has not previously been
reported, comes after the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence determined last week that there is no credible evidence
that a foreign adversary wielding a weapon caused the health incidents.
Despite the assessment, the Pentagon is continuing to [63]examine that
possibility, as POLITICO reported.

The Army in September awarded Wayne State University in Michigan [64]a
$750,000 grant to study the effects of radio frequency waves on
ferrets, which have brains similar to humans, according to information
on the grant posted on USASpending.gov. The aim is to determine whether
this exposure induces similar symptoms to those experienced by U.S.
government personnel in Havana, Cuba, and China, the documents show.

Symptoms have been described as severe headaches, temporary loss of
hearing, vertigo and other problems similar to traumatic brain injury.

DoD has also recently tested pulsed radio frequency sources on primates
to try to determine whether their effects can be linked to what the
government calls "anomalous health incidents," according to one former
intelligence official and a current U.S. official who were briefed on
the effort. Both were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive work. It
is not clear whether these studies, which were done internally, are
ongoing.

DoD spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman confirmed that the grant to Wayne
State University, with collaborators from the University of Michigan,
"will develop and test a novel laboratory animal model to mimic mild
concussive head injury."

"Behavioral, imaging, and histological studies will determine if the
model is comparable to the abnormalities seen in humans following
concussive head injury," Gorman said, adding that: "The model may
subsequently be used to test potential treatments to alleviate the
deficits associated with traumatic brain injury."

Gorman declined to comment on whether DoD has recently conducted these
experiments on primates.

As directed by Congress, "DoD continues to address the challenges posed
by AHI, including the causation, attribution, mitigation,
identification and treatment for such incidents," Gorman said. "Our
foremost concern remains providing care to affected individuals - since
the health and wellbeing of our personnel are our top priority."

The yearlong study, which is funded from Sept. 30 of last year to Sept.
29 of this year, is part of DoD's continuing effort to determine the
cause of the mysterious incidents. The Office of the Director of
National Intelligence's annual threat assessment presented to Congress
this week stated that the intelligence community also continues to
actively investigate the issue, focusing particularly "on a subset of
priority cases for which it has not ruled out any cause, including the
possibility that one or more foreign actors were involved."

Intel chief Avril Haines told lawmakers on Wednesday that she concurs
with the intelligence community's overall assessment, but noted that
the government continues to do research "on the [science and
technology] side to determine causation."

Animal rights group pushes back

Shalin Gala, vice president of the animal rights group PETA, slammed
the news that DoD is testing this technology on animals.

"We are disturbed by a reported military plan [exposing] monkeys to
pulsed microwave radiation in a misguided attempt to determine human
brain effects associated with Havana Syndrome," Gala said. "This has
been debunked as has the purported justification for the Army's current
$750,000 taxpayer-funded brain injury experiment that bombards 48
ferrets with radio waves."

But advocates say testing on animals with brains similar to humans is
necessary to help the people affected. The fact that DoD is conducting
this research indicates that officials already have "extremely solid
science," including computational modeling, backing up the theory that
radio frequency exposure could be behind the Havana Syndrome, said the
former intelligence official.

"You don't get approval for animal testing unless the science is there.
... You've already proven out that the science is correct and exists,
and now you are looking at the biological impacts that can't be modeled
and you need a specimen to determine what it does biologically," the
former official said.

DoD has other contracts in the works to conduct additional animal
testing, the former official said, while declining to give details.

"This type of testing will be integral to us finally finding out what
happened to the AHI victims as we will be able to compare the imaging
that was done on our brains to what will be seen from animals who are
subject to radio frequency waves," said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former
CIA officer who suffered debilitating symptoms from a suspected
directed-energy attack during a 2017 mission in Moscow.

During the Wayne University study, researchers planned to expose the 48
ferrets to radio frequency waves for two hours a day for 60 days. This
is expected to result in "an exposure profile that is likely comparable
to that which our embassy personnel received." Twenty-four additional
ferrets will receive "sham exposure," according to the summary.

It is necessary to use an animal like a ferret that has brain
structures resembling the "gyrencephalic nature" of the human brain;
mice and rats do not fulfill this criteria, according to the summary.
The brain tissue of gyrencephalic animals, like humans, ferrets, pigs
and primates, resembles ridges and valleys, compared to smooth surfaces
of the brains of lissencephalic animals, such as mice and rats.

A further description of the study from the Defense Technical
Information Center's public database specifically references Havana
Syndrome.

"United States government officials working in our Embassies in Havana,
Cuba, and China have been diagnosed with acquired neurosensory
syndrome, commonly referred to as the Havana Syndrome," according to
the abstract, which notes that the victims have "symptoms and clinical
findings resembling someone who has had a concussive head injury."

There is "strong rationale" that the Havana Syndrome was caused by
"occult exposure to radio frequency (RF) waves," according to the
abstract, which notes that the Russians have used radio waves to
clandestinely eavesdrop on U.S. government personnel since the Cold
War, when the practice was known as the "Moscow Signal."

Researchers proposed the one-year study to determine whether radio
frequency waves induce brain changes similar to those induced by
"repetitive, mild, concussive head injury resulting from impact or
blast exposure," the abstract says.

After subjecting the ferrets to the radio frequency waves, researchers
will perform cognitive measurements, for example testing memory,
learning and anxiety, and assess the animals' balance and hearing
functions "to determine whether RF exposure induces a neurosensory
syndrome similar to that which has been found for men and women" who've
reported Havana Syndrome symptoms.

History of testing

Animal testing of directed energy sources goes back to the 1960s, when
scientists at the DoD's Advanced Projects Research Agency [65]subjected
primates to microwave exposure to determine if Russia was using
microwave devices to spy on U.S. government personnel in Moscow. The
National Security Archive last year obtained and posted records about
the program, which were being reviewed by the Biden administration as
part of its investigation into Havana Syndrome.

However, there are stricter regulations on animal testing today.
Then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger banned using animals in DoD
"wound laboratories," which help develop ways of treating wounds, in
1983, though this was later weakened to allow for use of goats and pigs
in "live tissue training" drills, according to Gala. DoD Instruction
3216.01 currently prohibits cats and dogs from being used in weapons
wounding tests, as well as the purchase of primates or marine mammals
"for the purpose of training in surgical or other medical treatment of
wounds produced by any type of weapon(s)."

Meanwhile, the Army in 2005 prohibited the use of dogs, cats, marine
mammals and nonhuman primates from "research conducted for development
of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons."

But the New York Post [66]revealed in September 2022 that the Army
Medical Research and Development Command quietly changed its policy to
allow the wounding of house pets, primates and marine mammals for
research purposes, with approval from the Army's animal care and use
review office.

PETA filed an appeal last year with the Army requesting the release of
public information on weapons testing that harms these types of animals
after the Army changed its policy. The Army initially told PETA it had
at least 2,000 response records to the group's Freedom of Information
Act request, but it [67]later backtracked and claimed to have only one
protocol for weapon wounding testing on animals, which it claims is
"classified," according to Gala.

The Army disputed the claim that it is withholding relevant documents.

"PETA filed a FOIA, and after a very thorough record search, one
document was found in response to the FOIA and cannot be released
because of the classification," MRDC spokesperson Lori Salvatore
[68]told Army Times last year.

"[69]Weapon wounding tests on dogs, cats, monkeys and marine animals
are a bloody stain on the uniform worn by those who bravely serve. They
do nothing to advance human health and the Army should rescind its
order allowing such abhorrent tests immediately," Gala said. "The Army
should stop letting paranoia and fear influence its research and
swiftly ban all such weapon wounding tests on animals."

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the role played
by the National Security Archive in the disclosure of the Defense
Department's history of animal testing.
* Filed under:
* [70]Department Of Defense,
* [71]Pentagon,
* [72]Illnesses

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