Vaccination against Covid-19 is mandatory for U.S. military personnel, but exactly what does that mean?
For those serving in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, and Army components of the National Guard,
- It doesn’t mean they’ll be force-vaccinated against their will.
- It doesn’t mean they’ll be kicked out of the service.
- It does mean they can’t re-up.
Active-duty junior personnel who decline to get vaccinated won’t be disciplined and can serve out their enlistments, and will receive honorable discharges, but they won’t be eligible for service schools, promotion, or allowed to re-enlist. Officers and senior sergeants, however, could be relieved from duty.
The Army’s more lenient policy may arise from Oklahoma’s politically-motivated refusal to require its Guardsmen to comply with Pentagon vaccination directives. The National Guard is under control of state governors except when called into federal service.
Military.com says, “There is little evidence of widespread anti-vaccine sentiment in the military. As of last week, 92% of active-duty soldiers are fully vaccinated, far outpacing the general U.S. population, which is at 59%, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Read story here.
Other services are more stringent. The Air Force has ordered its personnel to get vaccinated, and is discharging recruits who refuse and threatening disciplinary action against active-duty refusers. It’s apparently not an issue in the Navy, which reports a near-100% vaccination rate among active-duty sailors. The Marines have the lowest compliance rate of the services, but which is still far above civilian vaccination rates. Read that story here.
Related story: Troops discharged for not being vaccinated won’t lose veterans benefits. Details here.