The Department of Defense (DoD) is providing this information, at the request of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), to assist the VA in providing healthcare services to qualified veterans and to
assist veterans in establishing service connection for disability claims. The Deployment Health
Support Directorate (DHSD) collected this information from multiple sources and requested that the
military services declassify it to allow its public distribution. The VA accepts this information
provided on location, dates, units and/or ships, and substances involved in this exercise, which
DHSD extracted from classified DoD records, and will provide it to individual veterans as necessary,
but the VA cannot verify its accuracy.
Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
Deployment Health Support Directorate
FACT SHEET
For more information
(703) 578 - 8500
(800) 497 - 6261
Version 10-09-2002
Deseret Test Center
Elk Hunt, Phase I
Shortly after President Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961, the Secretary of Defense,
Robert McNamara, directed that a total review of the U.S. military be undertaken. The study
consisted of 150 separate projects. The chemical and biological warfare review was known
as Project 112. As part of the Project 112 review, the Joint Chiefs of Staff convened a
working committee that recommended a research, testing, and development program for
chemical and biological weapons. To oversee this program, the Deseret Test Center was
established at Fort Douglas, Utah, in 1962. Both land-based and ship-based tests were
conducted during the period 1962 – 1973. The Deseret Test Center closed in 1973.
The Elk Hunt, Phase I tests were designed to determine the amount of either standard or
modified VX nerve agent picked up on the clothing of personnel traversing various types
of contaminated terrain. The tests examined the length of time a barrier is effective in
producing casualties. Elk Hunt, Phase I also compared pickup of agent when M23 mines
filled with standard and modified VX nerve agent were detonated under water and under
ground.
In Elk Hunt, Phase I, standard or modified VX nerve agent was disseminated from M23
mines detonated under ground in three types of terrain – shrubbery, wooded, and ground
covered in rye grass – and under water. Personnel, assuming various tactical positions,
traversed the contaminated test grids at specified times and the amount of VX picked up on
their clothing was measured. Personnel wore complete, impermeable, butyl-rubber outfits
and M9A1 masks.
Twenty trials were conducted in the vicinity of Fort Greely, Alaska from July 3 through
August 15, 1964.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is providing this information, at the request of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), to assist the VA in providing healthcare services to qualified veterans and to
assist veterans in establishing service connection for disability claims. The Deployment Health
Support Directorate (DHSD) collected this information from multiple sources and requested that the
military services declassify it to allow its public distribution. The VA accepts this information
provided on location, dates, units and/or ships, and substances involved in this exercise, which
DHSD extracted from classified DoD records, and will provide it to individual veterans as necessary,
but the VA cannot verify its accuracy.
ELK HUNT, PHASE I
2-2-2-2
Test Name Elk Hunt, Phase I (DTC Test 65-14)
Testing Organization US Army Deseret Test Center
Test Dates July 3 – August 15, 1964
Test Location Fort Greely, Alaska
Test Operations To determine the amount of either standard or
modified VX nerve agent picked up on the
clothing of personnel traversing various types of
contaminated terrain. To determine the length of
time a barrier is effective in producing casualties.
To compare pickup of agent when M23 mines
filled with standard and modified VX are
detonated under ground and under water.
Participating Services US Army, Deseret Test Center personnel
Units and Ships Involved Selected personnel assigned to HHC,
171st Infantry Brigade, 15th Artillery Battalion,
40th Armor Battalion, 4th Battalion,
9th Infantry, 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry,
538th Ordnance Company (Direct Support)
Dissemination Procedures Standard or modified VX was disseminated from
M23 mines detonated under ground and under
water.
Agents, Simulants, Tracers VX Nerve Agent
Modified VX Nerve Agent
(one percent polyisobutyl-methacrylate added
as thickener)
Ancillary Testing Not identified
Decontamination Not identified
The Department of Defense (DoD) is providing this information, at the request of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), to assist the VA in providing healthcare services to qualified veterans and to
assist veterans in establishing service connection for disability claims. The Deployment Health
Support Directorate (DHSD) collected this information from multiple sources and requested that the
military services declassify it to allow its public distribution. The VA accepts this information
provided on location, dates, units and/or ships, and substances involved in this exercise, which
DHSD extracted from classified DoD records, and will provide it to individual veterans as necessary,
but the VA cannot verify its accuracy.
ELK HUNT, PHASE I
3-3-3-3
Potential Health Risks
Associated with Agents,
Simulants, Tracers
VX Nerve Agent – (Synonyms: Phosphonothioic
acid, VX)
VX nerve agent is extremely lethal. It is an oily
liquid that is clear, odorless, and tasteless. Death
usually occurs within 10-15 minutes after absorption
of a fatal dosage. VX nerve agent is one of the most
toxic substances ever synthesized. Symptoms of
overexposure may occur within minutes or hours,
depending upon the dose. They include: constriction
of pupils, headaches, runny nose, salivation,
tightness in the chest, nausea, vomiting, anxiety,
difficulty in thinking, muscle twitches, tremors,
and weakness. With severe exposure, symptoms
progress to convulsions and respiratory failure.
There is little information available regarding the
long-term human health effects of exposure to low
doses of VX.
(Sources: Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Nerve/VX/ctc0006.asp [as of January 25, 2002]Zajtchuk R
(ed.), Textbook of Military Medicine (part 1,
Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare,
1997), Office of the Army Surgeon General,
Washington DC, 1997. SBCCOM Online,
Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
http://in1.apgea.army.mil:80/RDA/msds/vx.htm[as of April 2, 2002] World Health Organization,
Department of Sustainable Development &
Environmental Protection,
http://209.61.192.180/phe/factsheet_5.htm [as of April 2, 2002]
Department of the Army Pamphlet 40-8:
Occupational Health Guidelines for the Evaluation
and Control of Occupational Exposure to Nerve
Agents GA, GB, GD, and VX
http://books.army.mil:80/cgi-bin/bookmgr/BOOKS/P40_8/CCONTENTS [as of February 5, 2002])