The Pentagon submitted a recommendation in the 3 weeks since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination mandate, leaving service members with questions about their status.
Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination mandate on Jan. 10 after the removal of the order was approved as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023.
Under Austin’s memo, the Defense Department would halt any separation of those who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which had already been on hold since President Joe Biden signed the NDAA on Dec. 23.
For the Navy, this meant that at least 4,095 sailors whose separations had been suspended following a lawsuit over waiver requests would no longer face separation.
But his and the 2,089 sailors forced out of service are unclear.
Here’s what we know so far:
“No later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall rescind the mandate to vaccinate members of the Military against COVID-19 pursuant to the August 24, 2021, coronavirus memorandum. ‘Disease 2019 Vaccination of Department of Defense Service Members,’ reads section 525 of the NDAA.
Not yet. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill with 18 other senators called the AMERICANS Act, which calls for the reinstatement of the corps of military workers who were separated due to refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The bill also asks the Ministry of Defense to refrain from any adverse action against anyone who does not have the COVID-19 vaccine. However, this allows anyone to deploy without the vaccine if the destination country requires the vaccine to enter.
The acronym of the bill stands for Allow Military Exemptions, Acknowledge individual concerns about the New Injections Act of 2023.
Other groups, in addition to the Naval League, also called for the reinstatement of service members despite their separation for refusing to adhere to a legal order at the time.
As part of its legislative schedule for 2023, the Navy League introduced “Heal the Breach,” which calls on the Marine Corps to release a policy allowing the 3,717 separated Marines to return to service.
The Reserve Organization of America also has for the reinstatement of service members with back wages.
Former Vice President Mike Pence also called on the military to bring back those separated due to the vaccine in an interview with The Hill.
The Navy separated a total of 2,096 sailors, of whom 1,664 were on active duty, not counting 32 who separated the first 180 days of service. The Marine Corps had separated 3,717 Marines as of Dec. 1. Infantrymen on duty from December 15. The Air Force did not specify how many airmen or guards were separated in its latest COVID-19 update in December.
The Defense Ministry said the vast majority of the army’s workforce had been vaccinated against COVID-19. The Marine Corps, which has recorded the highest number of casualties, has vaccinated 96 percent of its workforce.
As of June 30, 2022, the Navy’s overall maximum strength was 344,022 and the Marines’ 174,484, according to a Congressional Research Service report. Based on those numbers, approximately 0. 5 percent of active-duty armed forces have been separated and approximately 2 percent of active-duty Marines.
The Pentagon has issued no express instructions on the prestige of unvaccinated personnel. They will most likely be operational, with the caveat that they cannot be deployed in countries that require vaccination to enter.
The Defense Health Agency lists the COVID-19 vaccine as for all existing reaction areas. However, there are vaccines, such as anthrax, that may be needed depending on where a service member is deployed and for how long.
Countries including Japan and South Korea, which had some of the strictest access requirements, lifted their vaccine requirements for access on Tuesday. But countries can replace their access requirements, which could ban access for the military’s corps of workers if they are not vaccinated.
There are a number of lawsuits that took a stand after Austin issued the vaccination order, adding those that targeted Navy officers in particular. One of the trials, the U. S. Navy SEALs. U. S. Appeals 1-26 v. Biden, is being heard recently at the Fifth Court of Appeals. and the U. S. District Court. U. S. for the Northern District of Texas. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an initial court order in the case, which prohibited the Navy from separating sailors who had applied for devout exemptions for the vaccine. Similar lawsuits have been filed with demandantes. de other service lines.
Attorneys for Navy SEALs went to court Monday to argue that the lawsuit for injunction and writ of elegance continues because the Navy continues to punish unvaccinated sailors, even though the order no longer exists, First Liberty attorney Mike Berry told USNI News.
“Unfortunately, that’s what the Secretary of the Navy himself has already said publicly, that there will be two categories of other people in the Navy, it’s going to be the vaccinated and the vaccinated and the vaccinated will be the only ones allowed to do things,” Berry said. “And that’s precisely the kind of discrimination that we’re trying to prevent, stop. “
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told reporters there would be two categories of people in the Navy, vaccinated and unvaccinated, before the NDAA passed. The Navy has not issued any express recommendations on the operational prestige of unvaccinated sailors.
Another lawsuit filed in opposition to Navy and Defense Department officials had plaintiffs from all departments, adding a Navy surface warfare commander, who is not named in the lawsuit.
The commander was temporarily on the ground because he was not vaccinated, but he was vaccinated by a court order preventing the military from separating the officer.
The lawsuit was deemed moot after the Defense Department canceled the order, according to electronic court records. But the commander is still on transient ground duty, attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel told USNI News on Jan. 27. Staver said his consumer was not informed of his status. .