Army doctor took millions from taxpayers to physically, sexually abuse soldiers and animals, activists claim

(NaturalNews) Dr. John Henry Hagmann retired from the U.S. Army in 2000, and since then he has assisted in the training of thousands of soldiers and medical personnel in the treatment of battlefield wounds.

His company, reports Reuters, Deployment Medicine International, has snagged more than $10.5 million in taxpayer funding, but the training has long angered animal rights activists who say his company's use of live, wounded pigs to simulate combat injuries is unnecessary and cruel.

But Virginia medical authorities from the state's Board of Medicine, which oversees physician conduct, found something even more disturbing during an investigation of his company: During training sessions in 2012 and 2013, Hagmann gave trainees drugs and liquor and then told them to perform obscene, ghoulish medical procedures on each other.

Now, Hagmann, 59 – whom some could liken to the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele – has been accused of inappropriately giving at least 10 students the hypnotic drug ketamine. Further, the investigative report alleges that Hagmann told students to shove catheters into the genitals of other trainees, and that a pair of drunk students were even subjected to penile nerve block drugs. Also, Hagmann stands accused of conducting "shock labs," a process whereby he withdrew blood from students, monitored them for shock, and injected the blood back into their systems.

The report further alleges that Hagmann "exploited, for personal gain and sexual gratification" two students who attended a July 2013 course at his Virginia farm.

"No, we didn't authorize that"

Reuters noted that the allegations against Herr Doktor have not been reported previously. The charges are administrative in nature and were listed in a 15-page dossier that was compiled by two assistant attorneys general on behalf of the medical board, which temporarily suspended Hagmann's license in March. His case is set to receive a full hearing on June 19 before the full board, which could choose to permanently revoke his license. During the hearing, Hagmann and his attorneys will reportedly present their cases, which are expected to include testimony from students or other witnesses.

In a statement that Hagmann provided to Reuters, he said: "The mechanisms and protocols utilized in the training all comply with standard practices for training medical students and are, in fact, utilized in medical schools in Virginia."

He also said the "claims of sexual misconduct cause me the most anguish. Absolutely no 'sexual gratification' was involved and there is no evidence of such."

Hagmann stated further that "the courses and procedures in question were all reviewed and approved" by officials at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a medical school run by the federal government that trains health professionals to support military branches.

The university has disputed Hagmann's claims, however.

"The procedures used during the training were not authorized by USU faculty," Sharon Holland, a spokeswoman for the Uniformed Services University, said in a statement to Reuters.

She said a student at the university voiced questions and concerns about Hagmann's training in July 2013.

"The moment the department and USU leadership were informed that these events occurred, the institution immediately suspended the relationship with Dr. Hagmann, his course, and his company," Holland said. "We launched an investigation and those findings prompted a report to the Virginia Medical Board."

Army officials have said they don't condone Hagmann's behavior.

Nazis rewarded by U.S. after the war

During World War II, Josef Mengele was an officer and physician at the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, where he selected who would be sent to gas chambers. More to the point, however, he also conducted grotesque, unscientific and often fatal experiments on prisoners at the camp.

Nicknamed the "Angel of Death," he fled the prison camp at war's end and eventually made his way to South America, where he reportedly died in a drowning accident in 1979. But other Nazis fared much better. Indeed, during the Cold War, more than 1,000 former Nazis were employed by the U.S. government, used as assets against the Soviet Union because it was believed their intelligence value was too great.

Others managed to collect Social Security payments, even after being expelled from the U.S.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://www.theblaze.com

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.theatlantic.com