The Air Force has discharged 27 junior enlisted personnel for not complying with its Nov. 2 vaccination deadline, the Associated Press reported on Monday, December 13, 2021 (read story here). All were in their first enlistment.
It appears the Air Force is cleaning the bottom of the barrel first. This first batch were outright refusers; none had sought “any type of exemption, medical, administrative or religious,” a spokesperson said. She added they may have “other infractions on their records,” but noted that “vaccine refusal” was a factor in all of these elements of these discharges.
This ends their military careers. They were discharged for “failure to obey an order,” which will bar them from enlisting in any military branch in the future.
The Air Force, which has over 1,000 vaccine refusers in its pipeline, is the first service to discharge anyone for that reason. The Navy and Marines had a Nov. 28 deadline, so they’re taking longer to begin such discharges, and Reservists and Guard members don’t hit their deadline until June 30, 2022.
Update (12/17/21): The Marines has discharged 103 troops for vaccine non-compliance (story here).