Austin ends the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Ex-soldier, a neo-Nazi, gets 45 years for plot to ambush his own unit, Issues with the Armys Europe-based equipment trigger readiness alarms, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, How the Marine Corps is preparing for era of contested logistics, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Perennial pilot shortage puts Air Force in precarious position, Pentagon again denies helping Ukraine attack targets inside Russia. CBC News reached out multiple times to Galati, who is listed as the spokesperson for the lawsuit in a press release issued by Vaccine Choice Canada. Through much prayer and reflection, Plaintiffs have sought wisdom, understanding, and guidance on the proper decisions to make concerning these COVID-19 vaccines, and Plaintiffs have been convicted by the Holy Spirit that accepting any of the three currently available vaccines is against the teachings of Scripture and would be a sin, according to a Florida lawsuit first filed in late 2021, then amended on Feb. 7 with additional plaintiffs. They are, theyre ignoring the law, theyre ignoring the Constitution. They dont offer what are, in the legal speak, we call advisory opinions. All rights reserved. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. Like the other service branches, the Navy required all active-duty service members to be fully vaccinated before Nov. 28 or risk a full range of disciplinary action. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that federal court injunctions against the mandate are still needed, in part because decisions on deployments and assignments can still be made based on vaccination status. All rights reserved. There are fresh concerns that public support for ongoing military assistance may be waning. The Air Force has approved 135 religious exemption requests out of thousands submitted so far. OConnor ruled that the blanket denial of their religious waiver requests amounted to a violation of the service members rights under the First Amendment andthe Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Jared Serbu: Yeah, theres a ton. The "rule" and the ways it will be fought 1:43:40 How to fight the NFA and its unconstitutional rule about barrel lengths. All told the lawsuit includes 26 SEALs from the original complaint, plus five special warfare combatant crewmen, five divers and one explosive ordnance disposal technician who joined the case in late January. The temporary restraining order means the military cannot punish airmen and Space Force guardians whose application for a religious exemption to one of the federally endorsed vaccines was denied or is still being processed. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution. Telling Plaintiffs they must accept or receive a shot they oppose according to their sincerely held religious beliefs, or face court martial, dishonorable discharge, and other life altering disciplinary measures, disgraces the sacrifices these heroes have made, according to the lawsuit. Army leadership has been eyeing the possibility of a mandated COVID-19 vaccine this summer, including in a June information paper originating from the Army's health care operations directorate . ), the Washington Post, and others. Hes one of the attorneys representing the airmen challenging the mandate, and he spoke more to Jared Serbu on theFederal Drive with Tom Temin. Then in April, the WHO warned that. The Florida case also expands the arguments past the religious exemption process, citing a handful of other arguments made by COVID-19 vaccine detractors. It cost millions to recruit, train new troops being booted for vaccine refusal, Dishonorable discharges for COVID vaccine refusal off the table as military separations begin, Officer faces court-martial for refusing mask mandate, COVID test, Ex-soldier, a neo-Nazi, gets 45 years for plot to ambush his own unit, Issues with the Armys Europe-based equipment trigger readiness alarms, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, How the Marine Corps is preparing for era of contested logistics, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Perennial pilot shortage puts Air Force in precarious position, Pentagon again denies helping Ukraine attack targets inside Russia. 11. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. Lawyers for a group of Navy SEALS and other Navy personnel who refuse to be vaccinated for religious reasons told a 5th U.S. But the DoD is just saying Nope, we wont even recognize that we wont even consider it, even though they consider natural immunity for other communicable diseases and infections and things like that. Theyll accept that alternative and say, okay, you know, Im willing to do that instead. Dr Terry Adirim, the government bureaucrat behind the infamous and unlawful Pentagon vaccine mandate, will "leave her post in the coming days," reports FedScoop. Court documents show that two plaintiffs in Doster v. Kendall took the two-dose Covaxin vaccine, created in India, to comply with the Pentagons requirement. All rights reserved. But in terms of the underlying legal issues that are raised, no, theyre exactly the same. msn back to msn home news Skip To Navigation The judge agreed, issuing an injunction against discipline for the sailors on Jan. 3. Whats clear is that the COVID-19 has broken open a bit of a wormhole in the military. President Biden declared "the pandemic is over," yet is still pushing to discharge thousands of religious service members for their objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine. And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. The new policy guidance to the services makes no mention of reinstating service members who were separated from the military for refusing the shot. For a population accustomed to having very little power over their personal decisions where they live, what they wear, how they cut their hair, how much they weigh the opportunity to have some control over their medical decisions is an enormous discovery. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in the press release that the service is still, however, encouraging vaccinations. The Navy comes in second with a total of 469 separations, which includes 50 this past week. In late August, Pfizers vaccine received full approval under the brand name Comirnaty. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. Related: Navy Lifts COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Deployments. Staver, the attorney for the Florida plaintiffs, said his clients have shared their exemption rejection letters, which do not detail specifically why their requests werent approved. And at least in the Starbucks is that Ive been in recently where theyve been packed in like sardines. Religious freedom laws are set up to avoid a circumstance where the Navy, or the military or the government, is doing a faith test, to determine whether or not you really believe what youre supposed to believe, Griffin said. In one of manyongoing federal lawsuitschallenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed OConnor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group of Navy SEALs and Naval Special Warfare personnel a resounding victory Jan. 3 inU.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden. The prospect of dishonorable discharges has been a concern for some against vaccine mandates, but that type of discharge can only be handed down through a court-martial conviction. There was no indication when the judges would rule. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. So thats usually unwise, and so practitioners who are in front of the Supreme Court frequently like us, we usually know not to do that. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. And in fact, he said, the exemption process is fraught in and of itself. But if they eventually get consolidated in the Supreme Court grants cert [writs of certiorari] on something that considers the issue more broadly, would you expect that well get a case or a ruling that goes beyond the narrow issue of vaccines and gives the military some guidance as to how RFRA and broader religious accommodation issues apply to the military? They argue that their. A group of lawsuit plaintiffs, including four Air Force officers and a Secret Service agent, have asked a federal court to block the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccination mandates,. I think we win under the First Amendment, because you have individualized exemptions with medical exemptions, but not religious exemptions.. It was just a bunch of window dressing, on what was really a foregone conclusion of 100% of religious exemption requests were going to be disapproved, Berry said. The military's COVID-19 vaccine was repealed after the National Defense Authorization Act passed and was signed into law this month. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. The first lawsuit to garner national attention, filed in Texas late last year, made a splash because its plaintiffs include SEALs, among the most elite of the militarys special operations forces. So if you can find a way to accommodate somebodys religious beliefs, in a less burdensome way right, a way thats less obstructive or cumbersome on their religious exercise, then if the person is really sincere in their religious beliefs, theyll usually accept that. A federal court in Ohio on Thursday blocked the Air Force from enforcing the militarys coronavirus vaccine mandate for two weeks, a short-term win for airmen fighting multiple legal battles against inoculation. Theyre not following their own regulations. So that, right now that number is several thousand. The . Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. Researchers cultivate these cells for generations, using their derivatives to create or test all manner of pharmaceutical products. But their. Theyre usually willing to accept that and say, look, yeah, Im happy to. In a hypothetical alternate universe where it were the Navy and the Air Force, the rest of the services had an exemption process or a waiver process that did look more credible to you and to the court, do you lose these cases? If you want to swap with me, and they do that through the employer, or their employer offers that. About 97% of the Department of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, though a larger share of active duty airmen and guardians have gotten the jab compared to their Guard and Reserve counterparts. Were going from a 50-step process to a zero-step process? Duncan asked. That leaves around 14,400 airmen and guardians less protected in the COVID-19 pandemics third year. A federal appellate judge has dealt another blow to the military's coronavirus vaccine mandate by allowing a high-profile class-action lawsuit against the Air Force to move forward. More than a dozen unidentified U.S. service members have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine order, saying they have natural immunity from. You got a preliminary injunction in that case and a favorable ruling from the Fifth Circuit. Im very confident that this case going to the Supreme Court, Mat Staver whose Liberty Counsel represents plaintiffs in the Florida case told Military Times on Tuesday. Its really the same thing in the military context with this vaccine, where theyre saying, Look, teleworking or, doing a lot of these other measures, right, social distancing, masking, testing, whatever the case might be. Other service members have struck out on their own to fight the mandate. Just because the plaintiffs identify as a member of one religion or another doesnt mean they need to follow every tradition, according to Griffin, the former Coast Guard lawyer, nor would they need to justify why they are religiously opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine in particular. All of the military services have released vaccine refusal policies, none of them involving judicial or non-judicial charges for simply staying unvaccinated. Johnson & Johnson uses cells replicated from a fetus aborted in 1985 to produce its vaccine, but those cells are filtered out from the final product. Underthat law, the government may substantially burden a persons exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that burden is (1) in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Technology Artificial Intelligence Ask the CIO Automation Big Data CIO News Cloud Computing Cybersecurity IT Modernization Open Data/Transparency Reporter's Notebook Defense On DoD Army Navy Air Force The Navy granted another 500 administrative exemptions, including temporary waivers for sailors planning to leave the service or in the middle of a permanent change-of-station move, for example. "This vaccine mandate is unlawful and does not reflect the Land of the Free," said General O'Connor. By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square) Military leaders will testify on Tuesday before the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee about the impact of the Department of Defense's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on DOD employees and military service members. Im happy to take that one from you. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. He has criticized the Air Force for what he sees as a failure to carefully consider the merits of each exemption request and instead sweepingly reject them. They become the exception and not the norm. Theyre not following federal law. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . Because of those peoples religious beliefs and religious convictions. Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. Im willing to go through that. And usually when somebody is willing to go through those measures, that demonstrates a degree of sincerity. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . More than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Everyone who joins the military must receive a slate of several vaccines to enter, including chickenpox, rubella and hepatitis A. Most of the plaintiffs express some sort of Christian faith, though the vast majority of denominations have no formal ban on vaccination. A U.S. Navy officer is suing the leaders of the Defense Department and the Navy because they have denied his waiver requests to exempt him from getting the mandated COVID-19 vaccine. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. WASHINGTON The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the. The U.S . Dr. Lee Merritt, a self-described Navy surgeon, stated during an . . The lawsuit emerges as the latest development in an ongoing fight between state leaders and the federal government as Gov. And well be back week after week.. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. They include the small risk of myocarditis, which has anecdotally occurred in 1,626 U.S. residents out of more than 200 million fully vaccinated, with the highest risk in men under 24. Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine syringes at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Jan. 26, 2022. While in Texas, the sailors offered descriptions of their jobs, in Florida, the biographical information goes into training, deployments and expertise, attempting to make the case that their involuntary discharges would be a huge loss. That is especially true when the government imposes a choice between ones job and ones religious belief. Complainants push back on the militarys position that remaining unvaccinated endangers the force and undermines national security, since the vast majority of troops have received all of a one- or two-shot regimen. The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. Tom Temin is host of the Federal Drive and has been providing insight on federal technology and management issues for more than 30 years. Another lawsuit, first filed by troops attached to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has led to temporary protections for around 10,000 active-duty, Active Reserve, reserve and National Guard members of the Air Force and Space Force who requested a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine, although only those who have been denied an exemption would face immediate action. The vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. The Texas lawsuit argues that the Navy Department is blanketly denying all religious requests, making the process a sham. Already, a soldier and Marine have filed a lawsuit arguing that service members who have already recovered from COVID-19 and therefore have natural immunity should be exempt from vaccine mandates, according to the Army Times. Our lawsuit is certainly centered on religious exemption, but our lawsuit is broader than that to block the mandate in general of a non-FDA approved product, Staver said. The judge's decision impacts 200 to 300 servicemembers stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, who filed the lawsuit against top military leaders back in February. Night shifts arent popular, especially on Friday night, and things like that. Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. Similar suits have been brought throughout the country by service members across the military branches. The vaccine mandate for military personnel was put in place in August, with a deadline of Sept. 15. Hey you have the Friday night shift, right? 300aa-10-300aa-44). Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Washington Technology Power Breakfast: Cyber Command planning intelligence center, TSP contractor promises more improvements, for other communicable diseases and infections, FOIA backlogs on the rise after record number of requests, Revived bills would alter feds payment obligations during shutdowns, federal first responders pensions, VA launches equity task force to address disparity in benefits decisions based on race, White House $1.6B COVID fraud plan gives federal watchdogs increased staffing, VA deputy secretary, leader on EHR rollout and customer experience, is stepping down. Its just under 4,100. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. At 1,038, the Marine Corps leads the military branches for the most separations. Jared Serbu: Got it. On Jan. 10, the DOD officially rescinded its Aug. 24, 2021, and Nov. 30, 2021, memoranda mandating that all members of the U.S. military, including the National Guard and Ready Reserves, take the emergency use authorization COVID-19 shots or face discharge and other disciplinary measures. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking the Defense Department from taking action against a group of 35 Navy sailors who had refused to get a coronavirus vaccine,. ", -- Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report. The Texas case has smaller aspirations purposely, Berry said. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. There are some notable caveats. He spoke with a reporter last Wednesday but did . This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal. The next stop in the litigation is likely to be an appeal by the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. It is a danger of, you know, the government saying, Well, hey, heres what your faith tradition teaches, you should follow that, " Griffin said. That means that this is quickly becoming a national security concern. In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. The number of exemptions has fluctuated over the last several months as some people decided to get the shots or leave the service instead of seeking accommodation. Trident Order #12 also implemented the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the command level for Naval Special Warfare forces, setting a deadline of compliance for October 17, 2021," the SEALs' legal team . The Supreme Court is historically, they only address the legal issues that are brought before them, right. "Former Soldiers may petition the Army Discharge Review Board and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to request corrections to their records," the service's press release said. And thats why this is a sham.Jared Serbu: The Air Force case is a putative class action. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. VICP provides compensation for injuries and deaths caused by The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. WASHINGTON (AP) A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on Thursday as. By The Associated Press WASHINGTON A bill to rescind the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on. Three of the event's witnesses doctors Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorf, and Marty Makary are part of a small group of medical experts known as the Norfolk Group. It is not yet clear how the various services will handle pending lawsuits that sprang up in the years following the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Top Pentagon officials do not plan to alter their current "lawful orders" requiring the coronavirus shots for troops, unless they are granted waivers for medical or religious purposes, the. Members face the same injury: violation of their constitutional freedom by defendants clear policy of discrimination against religious accommodation requests, wrote McFarland, of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio. According to the First Liberty Institute, the public interest law firm representing the service members, each of the denials appeared to be identical, suggesting the Navy had not taken any of the religious exemption requests seriously. On Monday, Heather Hacker, an attorney for the Navy personnel, said the situation could be seen as worse now for them now that the older mandate policy has been rescinded, because current policy does not provide for a sailors religious objections to the vaccine to be considered when deployment or assignment decisions are made.
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