(Washington) The US Air Force has announced that it has fired 27 people for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. They will be, according to officials, the first soldiers to be dismissed for disobeying a duty to vaccinate.
The Air Force had given its members until November 2 to receive their doses. Thousands of soldiers are said to have either refused or sought waivers.
Troops spokeswoman Ann Stefanik said Monday that the 27 members are the first to be released administratively on the basis of vaccination.
according to mI Stefanik, everyone involved was in the first phase of enlistment. These are the young soldiers at the bottom of the hierarchy. While US forces are not disclosing the nature of a member’s release, a bill under consideration in Congress seeks to prevent the military from offering honorable or conditional releases to members expelled for vaccine refusal reasons.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon imposed a mandatory vaccination on all of its members, including those on duty, National Guard members, and reservists. Each division of the armed forces is free to determine the date of vaccination and the procedures to be followed.
The Air Force enforced the fastest deadline, which is why we got our first layoffs. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has argued that vaccination is necessary to maintain healthy military forces and preserve the United States’ ability to respond to a national security crisis.
None of the 27 individuals returned by the Air Force requested medical, administrative, or religious waivers.I Stefanik. According to several officials from various military services, the Air Force is the only department that has gone so far to dismiss members for refusing a vaccine.
Officially, these 27 soldiers were dismissed for refusing to obey an order.
The fact remains that dismissals due to refusal to comply with an order are common in the military ranks. In the first three quarters of 2021, about 1,800 members of the Air Force were dismissed for this reason.
According to the latest Air Force data, more than 1,000 members have refused vaccination, and more than 4,700 more are seeking religious exemption. As of last week, just over 97% of active duty Air Force personnel had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In the case of Marines and Marines, they had until November 28 to vaccinate. The reserve remains until December 28.
Army soldiers have until Wednesday, and National Guard or reservists still have until June 30 to do so.
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