Operation Ranch Hand developed in an effort to counterattack Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops by destroying food supply and vegetation cover used for concealment. Operation Ranch Hand lasted for the next nine years and within less than a decade U.S Air Force aircrafts had sprayed approximately 19 million gallons of herbicide, 11 million of which consisted of Agent Orange. Military records show that the two main squadrons, 12th Air Command and 12th Special Operations, targeted mainly the dense forests of South Vietnam and projected volatile territories in Laos and Cambodia. In South Vietnam, the herbicide was sprayed along roads, canals, railroads, and other suspected enemy pathways to prevent ambushes. In southern and eastern Laos, the herbicide was used to kill and remove jungle cover that concealed supply chains to the Vietcong. The total acreage that was sprayed on Southeast Asia without accounting for multiple coatings was approximately over six million acres. However…
Gabrielle Meik Dr. MacCormack SCI-359U June 8, 2016 Operation Ranch Hand - What Were We Even Thinking? Over the course of the Second Indochina War, U.S. troops committed severe violence against Vietnamese civilians––including countless rapes and a minimum civilian death toll of 6,000 individuals. Approximately 1.5 million people can be considered casualties of the Vietnam War, but it is arguable that the crops and forests of South Vietnam suffered the greatest loss of life, and that their…
On January 12th 1962, the US Air force launched Operation Ranch Hand. This operation called for the use of over 19 million gallons of Agent Orange to be dumped on to the forests in Vietnam to expose the Viet Cong soldiers below. Not only did vast amounts of foliage die, but the chemical lead to birth defects, cancer, and skin rashes for soldiers and civilians who came in contact with it. Operation Ranch Hand Initiated.) Many still argue today that Agent Orange was not linked to these health…
and was similar to DDT that was banned in 1972. DDT and Dioxin moved through the food chain in similar ways, carnivores for example would have a higher concentration of DDT in them as the eat many smaller animals with traces of chemicals. Dioxin accumulated in the body and if a mother was exposed, her offspring would be at risk because the defoliant moved through the blood stream. Agent Orange didn’t only affect health but it also affected the land that was sprayed in Vietnam. From 1962 to 1971…
In order to present the program as under the full authority of South Vietnam government, Operation Ranch Hands planes were stored alongside President Diem's private planes at the United States Air Force Base Bien Hoa. Although the United States Air Force initially planned to remove American markings from the planes and replace them with South Vietnam markings, a pilot involved in the first stages of Operation Ranch Hand recalled the Air Force Commander never implementing the remarking of…
important because it provides a guide on how to ask the right question in the context of big data, health, and ethics. Looking further into the careers that involved working extensively in biostatistics, public health stood out because it allowed me to pursue a health career while applying my strengths in abstract thinking and problem solving. Everything finally clicked when I connected my family’s history with the work I was doing in school. I reflected back on my life and began to think again…
during the Vietnam War can still be found in high traces in some places in Vietnam. The environmental impacts caused by Agent Orange and other herbicides than lead to many deadly illnesses for soldiers and local natives. The used of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War has effects millions of people and it will affect many more in the years to come. Clearly, herbicides like Agent Orange have lasting effects on the surrounding environment, soldiers, and local natives exposed to the deadly weapon.…
Agent Orange is a herbicide and defoliant chemical, one of the tactical use of Rainbow Herbicides. It is widely known for its use by the U.S military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It is a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides,trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. In addition to its damaging environmental effects, the chemical has caused major health problems for many individuals who were…
specifically to be used in “combat operations.”…
War there were various herbicides that were used, but the most common of them being Agent Orange. Agent Orange was one of three herbicides composed of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. The usage of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin was eventually discontinued due to its toxicity and later proven ability to cause cancer in living cells and birth defects. Agent Orange was given its name due to the orange stripe on the 55 gallon drum it as well as the…