MILITARY: VACCINE HOLDOUTS IN ARMY AND NAVY WILL BE DISMISSED
Vast majority have gotten their shots; thousands have sought exemptions
The vast majority of active-duty troops in the Army and Navy are vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the small number of those still refusing shots will soon be dismissed from the military, officials said Thursday.
In the Army, 468,459 active-duty soldiers, or 98 percent, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Navy has inoculated 342,974 members, with roughly 1.7 percent still holding out.
Some of those who are unvaccinated, however, have medical and administrative waivers or pending requests, or have already signed up for shots. But Army officials said that less than 1 percent of activeforce members are in that category. Thousands of troops requested religious exemptions, but none have been granted, officials said.
The National Guard’s vaccination numbers have lagged behind
the rest of the military.
The holdouts, especially among National Guard troops, underscore the increasing politicization of vaccine mandates in a part of government — the military — where many other vaccinations are administered with little controversy.
The Senate passed final legislation
this week that would prohibit the service branches from dishonorably discharging any member who refused to get the coronavirus vaccine. The measure, which was supported by Republicans in the House and the Senate, allows those who declined the vaccine to receive certain benefits after leaving the military.
On Thursday, right after three branches of the military released their latest vaccine numbers after passing a deadline for troops to be inoculated, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas made public a letter he sent to the Pentagon that said the state would not impose a vaccine mandate on members of its National Guard.
Earlier this week, five other Republican governors wrote a joint letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking that their National Guard troops be exempted from a federal coronavirus vaccine mandate, escalating what had been a single state conflict over inoculations.
“Thank you to the medical staff who have been supporting the pandemic response at home and to the vaccinated soldiers who put the health and welfare of their fellow soldiers and families first,” Christine Wormuth, secretary of the Army, said in a statement. “To those who continue to refuse the vaccine and are not pending a final decision on a medical or administrative exemption, I strongly encourage you to get the vaccine. If not, we will begin involuntary separation proceedings.”
Army commanders have relieved six active-duty leaders, including two battalion commanders, and issued 2,767 general officer written reprimands to soldiers for refusing the vaccination order, according to Army officials Thursday.
Vice Adm. John B. Nowell Jr., the chief of naval personnel, said this week that the administrative separation processing for those who continue to refuse would be expedited to “maximize speed and equity in achieving a fully vaccinated force.”
Each service branch set its own deadlines for compliance with the mandate, which was issued in August. The Air Force, with more than 325,000 active-duty members, hit its deadline Nov. 2. Pentagon officials said this week that 27 airmen — all with less than six years of service — were the first believed to have been fired over vaccine refusals.
The deadlines for the Marines and the Navy were Nov. 28. The Army’s was Wednesday.
The deadlines for National Guard troops are next year.