More than 3,300 service members have been put at risk of being thrown out soon after the Army said Wednesday it will immediately begin discharging soldiers who have opposed to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine.
The Army is the final military service to impose its discharge policy for vaccine refusers – and has so far discharged no one – since the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps have already discharged active-duty troops or entry-level personnel at boot camps for refusing the shots.
As of last week, nearly 600 Marines, airmen, and sailors have been dismissed from entry-level training at boot camps or thrown out of the military.
More than 3,300 soldiers in the Army, according to last week’s data, have refused to get the vaccine have been issued official written reprimands, which means they could be among the first to be discharged now that they’re identified in the disciplinary process.
More than 3.000 soldiers have requested medical or religious exemptions after the Pentagon has ordered all active-duty, National Guard, and Reserves members to get the jab to maintain the health and readiness of the force.
While the number of COVID cases continues to surge due to the omicron variant, around 97% of all Army soldiers have gotten at least one shot
Army commanders were ordered Wednesday in the directive issued by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth to begin involuntary separation proceedings against soldiers who don’t have a pending or approved exemption but have nevertheless refused the shots.
Wormuth stressed in her directive – that also included cadets at the Military Academy at West Point, its preparatory school, and ROTC – that unvaccinated soldiers jeopardize readiness to train, deploy and fight and present a risk to the force and warned them they’ll be discharged for misconduct.
Unvaccinated soldiers eligible to retire may do so before July 1.
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