The US Government actually did alotta research on and used astral protection for issues related to national security. They called it Remote Viewing. If you do a websearch of that I'm sure you'll find some very interestinhg info.

I dont think many kids are actually taught to astral project. The ability to project is very natural and we are all born with it. Like you said, people eventually get conditioned to be quite skeptical of such things. This doubt has to be overcame beofre someone can willingly project. Kids have a more open mind towards things. With children astral projection just happens. And when it does there is honestly no reason to fear that some other soul is gonna enter their body.

As for the ketamine thing, I'm still inclined to disagree. How can you prove that an out of body experience you had wasn't just you imagining yourself looking down at your body
Actually there are ways of proving astral projection but instead of getting to personal regarding my own experience I'll try to find some links that support what I;m syaing.