No one questions Air Force Maj. Sonnie Bates’ service record. A decorated pilot and 14-year veteran of the Armed Forces, he is the highest-ranking military officer to refuse to be vaccinated against anthrax, raising the stakes in a dubious military plan to protect all 2.4 million active-duty and reserve personnel against the virus.

There are serious questions about the anthrax vaccine. Some accuse it of being a player in Gulf War Syndrome, the mysterious illness that has caused adverse health effects for hundreds of veterans of that action.

While the government claims the vaccine is safe, the evidence of that is not complete. And the one company that produces the vaccine has had a series of financial problems that cause concern about the efficacy of the military’s plans, as well.

True, a number of potential U.S. enemies have access to stores of anthrax, including North Korea. True, the biological agent is easy to produce and relatively easy to employ, making it a potential terrorist weapon or tool of mass destruction for any rogue group. But the Department of Defense has not yet been able to build a scenario that justifies so ambitious an inoculation program.

Given that the safety of the vaccine is not certain, and given that the need for it is largely theoretical, one must wonder whether it is worth losing soldiers such as Maj. Bates — and the hundreds of other personnel who have been, or may soon be, discharged or disciplined for refusing to take the vaccine — to prepare for such a limited contingency.

Maine’s congressional delegation also remains uncertain of the anthrax vaccine program proposed by the military, and Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have proposed more hearings, similar to those held by the House, to review the Defense Department’s plans and thought process.

That’s the least that is needed, when we face the loss of people like Bates from military service. He’s willing to go to prison to defend his health. The military, in turn, should be at least willing to defend its needs before Congress.