The current dispute over which United States servicemembers are covered by the Coronavirus vaccination mandate repeal comes at an inopportune time for the military, as the armed forces continue to struggle with troop recruitment and retention.
So far, over 60,000 National Guard and Reserve troops have already been cut off from duties, pay, and benefits for declining the vaccine, and it is unclear whether the dismissed troops will be reinstated.
Republican lawmakers have been pushing for reinstatement of these troops, and an additional 14,000 National Guard troops could be discharged for declining to receive the COVID vaccine over the next two years.
Despite a provision in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that rescinded the Department of Defense’s COVID vaccine mandate for all military personnel, the Army issued guidance in December saying that the directive does not apply to National Guard and Reserve troops.
Both legal experts and lawmakers say that the guidance is in direct violation of the law.
“The Biden administration is just playing games now by trying to separate the reserve component from the active which is exactly what they have been doing with the ‘woke’ agenda which they have pursued, particularly with things like CRT”, says one US General.
