The Marine Corps discharged 66 Marines in the past week for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine as mandated by the military for a tota...
The Marine Corps discharged 66 Marines in the past week for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine as mandated by the military for a total of 169, as they continue to lag behind the other services at taking the jab and Omicron cases tick upward.
'The speed with which the disease transmits among individuals has increased risk to our Marines and the Marine Corps´ mission,' the Marine Corps said in a statement, even as the percentage of those at least partially vaccinated remained at 95 percent, the same as last week.
The infection rise also hit close to the Defense Department's No. 2 leader.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that seven staff members who traveled with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks last week to Hawaii, California and Nebraska have tested positive for the virus.
HN Denisse Estrada-Suarez administers the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a Tiger Team visit to Marine Forces Special Operations Command
The Marines lags slightly behind the Army, Navy and Air Force in vaccinations as more members of the core are discharged
Dr. Manjul Shukla transfers Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe at a mobile vaccination clinic in Worcester, Mass
Hicks and members of her personal staff have so far tested negative.
Hicks' trip included stops at U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego and U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha.
She also visited the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii and met with families who have been affected by fuel contamination in drinking water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
The department said the tests showing the positive results were taken at the conclusion of the trip and that contact tracing is now going on at all the bases, hotels and other facilities Hicks visited.
The United States is seeing an average of 149,000 infections a day, as omicron appears to spread up to three times faster than the delta variant.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that seven staff members who traveled with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks last week to Hawaii, California and Nebraska have tested positive for the virus
Officials say the vaccines, particularly with the boosters, beef up protections against more severe illnesses.
And the Pentagon has ordered all service members - active duty, National Guard and Reserves - to get the vaccine, saying it is critical to maintaining the health and readiness of the force.
Already this week, the Pentagon said 1,000 active duty troops will be deployed to states to help shore up beleaguered health care workers.
The Marine Corps has been the most aggressive in discharging troops who refuse the vaccine. And it also has denied all religious requests for vaccine exemptions that have been processed.
As of Thursday, 3,080 of the 3,192 requests received - or more than 96 percent - have been processed and rejected.
The Marine vaccination rate is the lowest among the military services.
The Army, Navy and Air Force all have nearly or more than 98 percent who have gotten at least one shot.
Navy officials have begun terminating the 5,731 active-duty sailors, or two percent of its active branch, who remain unvaccinated two weeks after the established deadline, leaders of the military branch confirmed last week.
Meanwhile, the Army announced it is prepared to ax 3,800 unvaccinated soldiers beginning in January and after the Air Force has already discharged 27 service members who refused the vaccine order.
The Navy has the highest vaccination rate of all military branches with 381,000 sailors - or 99 percent - vaccinated from COVID-19.
'If a sailor gets their shot, we will honor that and make every effort to retain them,' Rear Admiral James Waters, the Navy's director of military personnel plans and policy said.
'On the other hand, those who continue to refuse the vaccine will be required to leave the Navy.'
Navy officials had previously announced that unvaccinated officers and enlisted sailors eligible to retire or leave the service before June 1, 2022, will be allowed to do so with an honorable discharge.
Those who an ineligible for retirement or leave by that date will still receive an honorable discharge but 'will be processed for separation on the basis of misconduct for refusing the lawful order to be vaccinated,' Waters explained.
However, those with more than six years of service 'will be processed with the least favorable characterization of service, being general, under honorable conditions, barring other misconduct,' he said.
Army officials said last week that more than 3,800 soldiers - nearly 2 percent of the military branch's active duty force - had flatly refused to get at least one dose of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine as of this week's deadline and could be fired as early as next month.
The news came just days after the Air Force became the first US military service to begin firing personnel for rejecting the jab, with more than two dozen service members being discharged for disobeying orders.
The Pentagon announced earlier this year that the COVID-19 vaccine was mandatory for all service members, including the National Guard and Reserve.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger was adamant that the military is 'not bluffing' when it comes to enforcing the 'direct order' of the vaccine requirement and removing those who do not comply.
'It's not one any of the services made up. If you could rewind the clock and remove all the political football of it a year ago, I'd love to find a way to do that. But we can't,' Berger said.
All unvaccinated Marines without pending or approved exemptions will be processed for administrative separation officials confirmed.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said repeatedly that getting the vaccine is critical to maintaining a healthy, ready force that can be prepared to defend the nation. The Pentagon is also weighing making the vaccine booster shots mandatory for service members.
The US Army is prepared to discharge 3,800 active-duty soldiers - 2 percent of its total - for disobeying orders to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Pictured: a soldier received a COVID vaccine on September 9, 2021 in Fort Knox, Kentucky
The other services had earlier deadlines. The Air Force required vaccines for the active duty by November 2, while members of the Navy and the Marine Corps had until November 28 to get the shots and their Reserve members have until December 28.
Air Force Guard and Reserves had until December 2, and the Army Guard and Reserve soldiers have until next June.
The Army, the US military's largest service with 478,000 active duty soldiers, reported the lowest number of service members seeking a religious exemption - just over 1,700 soldiers - compared with the other three smaller services.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said repeatedly that getting the vaccine is critical to maintaining a heathy and ready force
The Air Force last week said it has already discharged 27 airmen for refusing to obey a lawful order and get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the shot mandate.
The airmen were formally discharged for failure to obey an order. It is possible that some had other infractions on their records, but all had the vaccine refusal as one of the elements of their discharge.
None of those discharged had sought any type of exemption, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told The Washington Post.
According to data released by the Army, more than 2,700 soldiers who refused the vaccine have already been given written reprimands, and six soldiers have been fired from leadership positions, including battalion commanders. The Army has said that soldiers who refuse the vaccine should not be in leadership jobs.
'Vaccinating our Soldiers against COVID-19 is first and foremost about Army readiness,' stated Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. 'To those who continue to refuse the vaccine and are not pending a final decision on a medical or administrative exemption, I strongly encourage you to get the vaccine. If not, we will begin involuntary separation proceedings.'
Procedures to begin discharging those who refuse the vaccine are slated to begin in January, giving soldiers a bit more time to change their minds before being forced out.
Students at the US Military Academy at West Point who refuse the vaccine and do not get an approved exemption will not be commissioned as officers.
The Air Force on Monday said it has already discharged 27 airmen for refusing to obey a lawful order and get the COVID-19 vaccine. Pictured: an Airman gets a COVID-19 shot on June 8 on Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia
The US Navy has highest vaccination rate at more than 98 percent. Pictured: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class John London is vaccinated against COVID in December 2020
The Marine Corps had until November 28 to get the shots and their Reserve members have until December 28. Pictured: Military medical personnel at Camp Lejeune, N.C., administer coronavirus vaccines to Marines in January
Overall, the Army said that more than 6,200 soldiers are seeking some type of temporary or permanent exemption, including 641 medical requests and the 1,746 religious requests.
Of those 6,200 requests, nearly 3,900 have received an approved temporary exemption. Four got a permanent medical exemption.
Temporary exemptions can be for a variety of reasons ranging from medical, such as pregnancy, to administrative, such as someone who is retiring or is in a remote location where there are no readily available vaccines.
Across the military, the vaccine reaction has mirrored that of society as a whole, with thousands of members seeking exemptions or refusing the shots. But overall the percentage of troops - particularly active duty members - who quickly got the shots exceeds the nationwide numbers.
Members of the US military are already required to get as many as 17 vaccines, depending on where they are deployed. The requirements - which include shots for smallpox, hepatitis, polio and the flu - also provide for a number of temporary and permanent exemptions for either medical or administrative reasons.
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