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British Journal of Healthcare and Medical Research - Vol. 12, No. 02

Publication Date: April 25, 2025

DOI:10.14738/bjhmr.1202.18415.

Young, A. L. (2025). Commercial and Tactical Herbicides used in Vietnam and Thailand During the Vietnam War. British Journal of

Healthcare and Medical Research, Vol - 12(02). 62-75.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Commercial and Tactical Herbicides used in Vietnam and

Thailand During the Vietnam War

Alvin Lee Young

A.L. Young Consulting, Inc., Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States

ABSTRACT

Issue: There continues to be much confusion among Vietnam and Vietnam-Era

veterans, Non-Governmental Organizations, the Department of Defense, the

Department of Veterans Affairs, and others as to the differences between the uses

of military “tactical” herbicides versus the military use of “commercial” herbicides

during the Vietnam War. If veterans were presumptively exposed to tactical

herbicides while in military service in Vietnam, 9 January 1962 – 7 May 1975, they

were entitled for health care for any of 19 different conditions “presumed to be

service connected.” Health care and compensation were provided by the Agent

Orange Act of 1991. Approximately 50,000 United States Air Force Veterans served

at Royal Thai Airbases in the Kingdom of Thailand during the Vietnam War,

especially during the years 1965-1971. Thailand veterans were previously eligible

for health care for any injuries they incurred during their service. However, they

were not eligible for conditions under the Agent Orange Act. Nevertheless, there

have been numerous allegations that US Thailand veterans were indeed exposed to

the wide-spread use of the same tactical herbicides, e.g. Agents Orange, White, and

Blue, that had routinely been used in Vietnam to control unwanted vegetation. In

2022, the US Congress passed the PACT Act that permitted veterans who served in

Thailand and Guam during the Vietnam War to be eligible for health care and

compensation for 26 different conditions “presumed to be service connected” to

their exposure to Agent Orange and other tactical herbicides while in service in

Thailand during the period 9 January 1962 to 30 June 1976. The Congress made the

decision despite the absence of any evidence from available historical records or

the absence of any knowledge about the use of “commercial herbicides” during the

Vietnam War. Thus, the issue is whether Thailand veterans were exposed to tactical

herbicides or commercial herbicides and has that exposure impacted their long- term health. Background: The first use of tactical herbicides was on 7 January 1962

in Operation RANCHHAND in South Vietnam. Approximately 74.2 million L of Agents

Orange, White and Blue were sprayed on jungles, mangroves, savannas and for crop

denial. Records confirmed that limited quantities of tactical herbicides were stored

in Thailand for missions by RANCH HAND in Laos. When Thailand joined the Allied

Forces in the Vietnam War in September 1964, the Thai government, under the

Rules of Engagement, did not permit tactical herbicides to be used for vegetation

control on Royal Thai Airbases. If not tactical herbicides, could commercial

herbicides be the explanation for Thailand veteran allegations? Tactical herbicides

differed from commercial herbicides in the development and testing of

formulations, purchase specifications, guidelines, regulatory oversight, shipment

requirements, toxicological evaluations and military record keeping. Findings:

Recently identified procurement records confirm that at least 262, 800 L of

commercial low volatile 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T herbicides were shipped and approved

for vegetation control on four airbases in Vietnam, 1962-1971. Records confirm

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Young, A. L. (2025). Commercial and Tactical Herbicides used in Vietnam and Thailand During the Vietnam War. British Journal of Healthcare and

Medical Research, Vol - 12(02). 62-75.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/bjhmr.1202.18415.

that the total volume of low volatile 2,4,5-T shipped to Thailand was 29,120 L.

Distribution to the Royal Thai Airbases and subsequent vegetation control was the

responsibility of Pacific Architect & Engineers, a private company trained as

commercial herbicide applicators for both Vietnam and Thailand. Dioxin (TCDD)

analysis confirmed that the low volatile 2,4,5-T was ~ 1 ppm, and the rate of

application, ~ 2.4 kg/ha, was similar to the same formulation sprayed in 1966 on

2.3 million ha on rangeland and pasture in the United States. It was also a choice

herbicide for control of unwanted vegetation on most of the Department of

Defense’s more 500 bases worldwide. Policy Considerations: The Congress of the

United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Thailand Veterans simply

refused to accept the reality that little or no exposure to either tactical or

commercial herbicides or TCDD ever occurred on Royal Thai Airbases in Thailand.

The dilemma for the DVA is that to recognize Thailand veterans for commercial

herbicide exposure fails to acknowledge that millions of military men and women

were on hundreds of military bases worldwide that were sprayed with the same low

volatile 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T commercial herbicides from 1962 -1972.

INTRODUCTION

There continues to be much confusion among Vietnam and Vietnam-Era veterans, Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of

Veterans Affairs (DVA), and others as to the differences between the uses of military “tactical”

herbicides versus the military use of “commercial” herbicides during the Vietnam War. There

are numerous publications describing the use of tactical herbicides used during the Vietnam

War [1, 2]. The use and quantities of commercial herbicides on military bases in Vietnam and

Thailand have not been publicly documented. This article provides a background on the

differences between tactical and commercial herbicides that were used in South Vietnam and

Thailand during the Vietnam War and provides some quantifying data. The data presented

poses interesting questions for the Department of Veterans Affairs as to their policy on

exposure to herbicides and the associated contaminant by Vietnam-Era veterans.

Olson and Cihacek claimed in their 2023 article (Use of Agent Purple, Agent Orange, and Agent

Blue on Royal Thai Air Force Base Perimeters in Thailand during the Vietnam War) that United

States Air Force (USAF) personnel stationed at seven Royal Thai Airbases during the Vietnam

War routinely used the tactical herbicides Agents Purple, Orange and Blue “to keep airbases

and perimeter fences clear of vegetation.” [3] Their article was intended to document and

assess potential exposure of US Vietnam-Era Veterans serving in Thailand to arsenic (from

Agent Blue) and the herbicide contaminant dioxin (TCDD, from Agents Purple and Orange) [3].

What is disturbing about their article published in the Open Journal of Soil Science is that they

overwhelm the reader with extensive information that has no relevance to the topic. For

example, they failed to provide scientific or historical facts for their conclusions in the above

28-page article, but rather the authors described “secret” CIA operations in Laos, Rules of

Engagement, Rainbow herbicides, the disposal operations of Agent ORANGE on Johnston Island,

Air Force standards for herbicide use in “unknown” manuals, and the extensive use of “Sworn

Statements claiming exposure to the tactical herbicides by US Airman” (i.e., recall bias). [3]

Lastly, Olson and Cihacek claimed that an “unlawful and arbitrary illusory distinction” exists

with DVA’s and DOD’s use of the terms commercial and tactical herbicides [3]. Contrary to the

Olson and Cihacek article, Young used the historical records archived within the National

Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Suitland Park, Maryland, and the more than 400