Early this month, we reported that over 100 US Marines were dismissed over their refusal to get a COVID-vaccination.
Marines now say they are being “crushed” by the Defense Department’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with the military declining all religious exemption applications.
Several active-duty Marines spoke to Fox News Wednesday and alleged that some of the Corps’ “best and brightest” were being forced out due to the requirement.One lieutenant colonel told the outlet the Pentagon was looking to discharge members “as fast as they can and as brutally as they can, damaging every Marine as much as they can on the way out.”The officer claimed they were warned by a colonel: “Tread very carefully, this is political, you will be crushed like an ant.”“Do I want to continue serving in an institution that crushes people for bringing up reasonable points in defending their faith?” they asked.
Fox News Digital granted several Marines who refused to get the shot anonymity for the interview. They said they are witnessing a “political purge” by the Biden administration forcing out personnel who have deeply held beliefs they say are protected by the First Amendment.
There’s something fundamentally wrong at this point with our nation’s leadership,” said a major with more than 17 years of active service. “We are facing an unconstitutional edict that I think is very targeted as a political purge, taking out some of the best and brightest soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians from the Space Force.”…One master sergeant said it seems that “the louder I speak the tighter the screws are turned against me.””When you’re expected to behave a certain way and to obey certain rules and follow certain processes, and then to see on the other end that that’s not a two-way street, that’s a violation of my morals that I can’t stand by and not speak out about,” the master sergeant said.
The Marine Corps may end up dismissing as many as 8,000 Marines over vaccine refusal.
“To date, there have been 3,192 requests for religious accommodation concerning the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. At this time, 3,080 have been processed and zero requests have been approved,” Wood said in a statement. The Marine Corps Times previously reported that the corps had not granted a single religious exemption for a vaccine in the past decade.Given this track record, it is unlikely that the 8,000 Marines facing separation will receive any exemptions. However, they will not be dishonorably discharged, as the Times noted that a recent defense provision requires “service members discharged for vaccine refusal to receive either an honorable or general discharge.”
Yet, despite robust vaccination, the virus still spreads.
This order would be utterly senseless if one were interested in public health. However, as a political tactic, it appears that it may be a success.
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