Over two dozen of service members were discharged by the US Air Force for refusing to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine and none of them sought medical, administrative, or religious exemptions, Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek informed.
It is believed that these 27 airmen – younger, lower-ranking personnel serving their first term of enlistment – the first service members to be discharged for not getting inoculated although the official reason listed for their discharge is disobeying an order.
It is not clear, however, if they received honorable discharges.
The House passed last week the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, according to which servicemen discharged for refusing to get vaccinated are entitled to at least a general discharge under honorable conditions.
The active-duty airmen were given by the Air Force until Nov. 2 to get inoculated, the earliest deadline of the military branches and the service members who got their exemptions requests for medical, religious, or administrative reasons denied were given five days to appeal the denial, get the first dose of the vaccine or file for a separation or retirement.
Reports have shown that, so far, servicemen seeking a religious exemption saw their requests being dismissed while some exemptions have been granted for medical reasons and for those who were already leaving the military.
The Air Force guidance released last week notes that servicemen who refuse to get the jab after being denied exemption will also be subject to discharge.
In late August, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for the military but left it up to each branch to set its own compliance deadline.
Unlike the Air Force, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve gave their personnel a Dec. 3 deadline to comply.
The most recent data, published Dec. 7, shows that 94% of the total force is vaccinated, including 97% of active-duty personnel, and 90% of Guard and Reserve personnel. Roughly 3% of troops – as many as 40,000 US military personnel- have refused vaccination or sought an exemption.
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