Investigational drugs and vaccines fielded in support of Operation Desert Storm

Development of medical countermeasures for chemical and biological threats is a mission of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. Several such countermeasures were fielded during Operation Desert Shield/Storm and a controversy developed in the press and in the courts over the use of these "experimental drugs" in service members. Far from experimental, these drugs were, however, fielded as "investigational" products. Describing the products as investigational is a result of Food and Drug Administration regulations, not a comment on the extent to which the products have been tested.