In a recent letter to lawmakers, the Pentagon said it could kick out as many as 16,000 unvaccinated troops, even though the coronavirus vaccine mandate is no longer in effect.
A letter from Military Undersecretary of Defense Gilbert Cisneros said that even though the mandate is no longer in effect, military officials are “reviewing cases on an individual basis to determine appropriate action” for unvaccinated troops. We are still considering it,” he said. I have not applied for an exemption.
Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. prepares to testify before the confirmation hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee for Pentagon candidates at the Dirksen Building on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call) , Inc via Getty Images)
The letter revealed that this applies to about 16,000 unvaccinated troops, revealing that about 69,000 troops remain unvaccinated, while 53,000 remain unvaccinated for religious, medical and other reasons. or requested some administrative exemption.
The remaining 16,000 may be subject to segregation despite Republicans forcing the administration to withdraw its mandate late last year through the 2023 Defense Authorization Act, according to the Pentagon.
Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Jim Banks (R-Indiana) denounced the Pentagon’s policy of penalizing troops who did not apply for waivers.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) arrives at the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 for the House Republican leadership election. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
“It is incredibly divisive and cruel to fire a patriotic service member for refusing to follow partisan and harmful rules that no longer exist. wants conservative servicemen out of the military,” Banks said.
At a recent hearing, Banks questioned Cisneros about punishing military personnel for missions no longer in force. He said it was because the military “did not obey lawful orders” because they did not seek waivers because they were not.
“People who refused the vaccine and didn’t ask for accommodations refused the lawful order,” Cisneros replied.
Banks pressed him on what the point of enforcing the canceled order was.
Cisneros said, “It is very important that military personnel obey orders where they are legal, in order to maintain good order and discipline.”
However, the Department of Defense has never publicly responded to questions about whether the vaccine mandate was legal.
As Breitbart News previously reported, the DOD can only mandate emergency use authorization approved vaccines if the Secretary of Defense requests and receives an waiver from the president. Instead, then-civil defense official Terry Adyrim wrote a memo claiming that EUA and FDA-approved vaccines are “interchangeable.”
The Pentagon has dodged whether Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requested and received a waiver from President Joe Biden.
Follow Kristina Wong on Breitbart News twitter, real societyor on Facebook.
