Military vaccine mandate called into question by nearly 50 lawmakers

In response to concerns regarding the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the readiness of the U.S military, nearly 50 Republican lawmakers have written to the Department of Defense (DOD).

Legislators, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sept. 15 outlining their "grave concerns" about the mandate, especially its impact on the armed forces.

In response to your mandate, eight percent of the Army's 1 million soldiers may be expelled from service, Army recruiters are not on schedule to meet their FY22 goals, and the Army has cut its projected FY23 end strength by 12,000 soldiers.

“The Department of Defense’s own Covid response page indicates that approximately 900,000 soldiers are fully vaccinated out of the 1 million soldiers in the Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard,” they wrote.

According to lawmakers, the U.S. military faces "a self-imposed readiness crisis" in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

As a result of "sparse" data, "at least 40,000 members of the National Guard, 20,000 members of the Army Reserve, and at least 15,000 members of the Active Army have not yet received a COVID-19 shot and are up for discharge subsequent to that.

16 September 2022