The Air Force apparently does not care that a U.S. Air Force Reservist is scheduled to retire with full honors and benefits December 1, 2021, since they are mandating that all service members, despite their status, receive the COVID shot.
When this reservist arrived for his last training weekend earlier this month, he was ordered to comply with the mandate. He submitted a religious exemption having only four to five days left to wear his Air Force uniform. Soon after, he was berated and bullied by the base commander to get the shot.
“If my December 1, 2021, retirement is granted, I should not be required to accept the vaccine just to retire or be placed on an administrative hold just to forfeit my service and be punished for not accepting the vaccine,” said the reservist.
The reservist has faithfully served this country for 29 years, first as an active-duty airman, then as a US Air Force Reservist. However, based on the US Department of Defense (DOD) order, every active and reserve military member must get the shots or face dishonorable discharge. This is the worst kind of punishment for someone who sacrificed everything for freedom. These brave heroes are being threatened with failure “to obey a lawful general order or regulation,” the consequence of which is court-martial.
The military members are being told there are no religious exemptions and on rare occasions will medical exemptions be approved.
Biden’s DOD orders are not lawful. The only FDA-approved COVID-19 shot is BioNTech Comirnaty, but it is not yet available. In addition to military law, refusing to even consider religious exemptions violates the First Amendment and the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a powerful law which the Supreme Court called a “super statute.”
In late August, Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered all active and reserve service members to get the shots. By then, the DOD knew the shots were causing serious heart problems to military members.
On June 29, the Defense Health Agency published a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association entitled, “Myocarditis Following Immunization with mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Members of the U.S. Military.”
The study reports that previously healthy service members developed myocarditis/pericarditis, a severe and life-threatening inflammation of the heart, within an average of just four days of receiving their first shot of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
One day later, Dr. Matthew Oster, who serves on Biden’s CDC COVID-19 Task Force, admitted the shots are causing myocarditis in “young men aged 16-30,” adding, “It does appear that mRNA vaccines may be a new trigger for Myocarditis.”
Despite the known dangers these shots are to male service members, the Biden DOD has mandated every person should be injected. No matter their term of service, rank, honors or tours of duty in the most dangerous places in the world, service members are being threatened with dishonorable discharge for merely requesting a religious exemption. Some have even been told they will be imprisoned and held in solitary confinement if they refuse the shot.
Thousands of military service members are being forced to make a major life-altering decision regarding their health. American heroes should not be treated as felons because of their personal medical choices.
Many are in combat where bullets and bombs are common during their tours of duty. They sleep on dirt and through dust storms with no showers for weeks, witness incredible moments of pain, suffering and sometimes even death. They have dedicated their lives to defend freedom while missing births, birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Never in Liberty Counsel’s 31-year history have we faced such a crisis. Nearly half a million people have viewed our legal help video. Tens of thousands have submitted legal help request forms. And our office is receiving nearly 1,000 new requests pleading for help every single day. Many of those are members of our military. These heroes voluntarily gave up everything to defend us and now we must honor them and not threaten them with discharge.”
