Amid a massive failure to meet its recruiting goals this year, the Pentagon seems intent on booting out tens of thousands of troops for rejecting the COVID-19 jab.
Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida is among those urging the Biden administration to realize the effects of this our-way-or-the-highway policy.
Waltz, a St. Augustine Republican, told Newsmax on Wednesday that 25,000 National Guardsmen could be kicked to the curb by President Joe Biden’s mandate.
“I get the law-and-order argument and the order and discipline argument. When you tell them to charge the hill, they got to do it,” said Waltz, the first Green Beret elected to Congress and still a National Guard member.
“But you also, as leaders, need to evaluate whether it’s necessary to charge the hill, and the cost of charging the hill, and in this case, the guard stands to lose 25,000 guardsmen on top of following tens of thousands short for recruiting.”
Waltz said the reason for the course change is obvious: the COVID-19 vaccines do not stop the spread.
This was even exemplified by Biden himself, who on Wednesday said he had tested negative after a few days in quarantine following a positive test – despite having had four vaccines.
Its inability to prevent illness is now “making it a personal health decision of what kind of symptoms you want to endure,” Waltz said.
“They really need to take a step back from their vaccine dogma,” added Waltz. “They’re guaranteed to lose nearly 40,000 to 60,000 men and women in uniform that they can’t replace.
Waltz maintained that America’s adversaries – led by China, Russia and Iran – are paying attention to the nation’s troubles with recruiting, which are compounded by the vaccine mandate.
On Tuesday, Waltz and a handful of other Republican lawmakers sent Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin a letter asking for guidelines that Austin had promised that spelled out grounds for an exemption from the shot.
“Approximately 11% of the National Guard and Reserves remains unvaccinated. The reluctance and refusal from some of these servicemembers to not be vaccinated comes from their personal spiritual beliefs and concerns about a vaccine that was initially developed and approved under expedited emergency-use authorization,” the letter said.
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“Some of these servicemembers have been previously exposed to COVID,” they added, and they pressed Austin “to consider whether this previous exposure induces sustained antibody protection, which may produce similar levels of immunity as the vaccine.”
“At a time when the Department is struggling to recruit qualified young men and women fit for duty to fill the ranks, and while China is embarking on a massive military buildup which threatens American interests around the world, we should not be hindering our own readiness and capabilities by punishing and forcing out experienced and dedicated Guardsmen and Reservists,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Further, as a result of the June 30 deadline, unvaccinated Guardsmen and reservists are not authorized to participate in federal training and war games. Not only does this affect the service pay and retirement benefits of the individual servicemembers, it also negatively impacts the combat readiness of the units.”
“As a matter of national security, the capabilities and readiness of the fighting force, and respect for the personal rights of our men and women in uniform, we ask that you reconsider the Department’s COVID vaccine mandate and issue uniform guidance that considers natural immunity,” the letter concluded.
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