This provision in the National Defense Authorization Act is an abomination. It flies in the face of military discipline, force readiness, hundreds of years of proper health and safety practices, and significantly undercuts the position and credibility of military leaders at all levels across the force.
Republicans who pushed this provision, to repeal the mandate for the Covid vaccine, demonstrated complete lack of respect, appreciation, and understanding of the US military. Since its original days as the Continental Army under General George Washington, service members were required to be vaccinated against a range of illnesses. Troops who are ill are not able to perform their duties, including training, fighting, etc. Debilitating diseases that spread, spread far more drastically in the close confines of military units, especially aircraft and ships. When such a disease strikes a unit, it spreads quickly, and the unit becomes mission incapable. The disease hops from person to person, prolonging the crisis. Not everyone goes down immediately. Remember the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt when Covid struck. The Teddy was performing a critical mission that they were forced to abandon because too many individuals were down with Covid and unable to perform duty. they had to find a port and go out of service for a significant time to obtain medical services and allow the disease to complete its run.
Military leaders from Washington through today have taken an oath and accepted the solemn responsibility to defend the nation and lead our forces. They care more than anything about the readiness, safety, and well-being of their personnel. they do not take lightly the impact of an illness and the requirements to be vaccinated against a range of illnesses home and before going overseas. Every person who chooses to serve does so knowing about these requirements. They know that military service requires giving up some aspects of personal liberty to be part of something greater than oneself and to accomplish the greater good of national defense. Refusing this one vaccine, which has been proven entirely safe and providing necessary force protection, is a disingenuous act. It comes from uninformed individuals choosing to place personal partisan politics over their duty to the nation and to their unit members. They are willing to sacrifice national security and the safety of their unit to pander to some personal extremist political agenda.
Service members who refused the Covid vaccine, and other vaccines, were separated from the service, and rightly so. Such disobedience to lawful orders, such disregard for their colleagues and national security, such prioritization of extremist politics over their mission all make them incompatible for military service. they are not fit to wear the uniform. They do not represent the generations of sacrifice and dedication of those who served before them. They lack the integrity and commitment necessary. Good riddance. These are extremists and individuals who choose to remain uninformed for personal partisan reasons over the needs of the unit and the military as a whole. Even if the rule changes, those already separated should not be allowed back in and certainly not with back pay as Republicans have argued. Their disobedience to orders does not change and their incompatibility with service remains.
Members of Congress should remove this provision from the bill. If they cannot remove it, they should vote against it, clearly stating it was solely for this one reason, stating that their vote is a vote in unity with generations of military leaders and service members who upheld standards and discipline and a vote in favor or force readiness. Pentagon leaders have emphatically stated the necessity for Covid vaccines and the military vaccine requirements generally. If they succeed in this measure to stop the Covid mandate, which vaccines are next? Do all vaccines become voluntary? Cowards unwilling to deploy or train overseas will refuse vaccines to avoid such service, leaving their colleagues to face danger undermanned. Units will face constant questions over their readiness. This is not the US military.
Shame on those Republicans in the House and Senate who demanded this provision be added. They know the history of vaccines in the US military, as well as militaries around the world. They know the potentially catastrophic consequences of units struck with a disease such as Covid that permeates the ranks. They are intentionally sacrificing our national security and playing perilous games for some sick political theater. Force them to yield in the name of national security and proper health and safety for the force. Do not yield to extremism and send the wrong message to our service members.
Dec. 08, 2022 – Source: Rollback of covid vaccine mandate met with furor at Pentagon – The Washington Post