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YOUR MILITARY


AUSTIN ENDS THE MILITARY’S COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE

By Meghann Myers
 Jan 10, 11:41 PM

The Defense Department repealed its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Tuesday. (Senior
Airman Ryan Mancuso/Air National Guard)

The Defense Department will no longer require service members to get vaccinated
for COVID-19, according to a memo signed Tuesday by Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin.

The move comes weeks after President Joe Biden signed the 2023 National Defense
Authorization Act, and with it a plan to rescind Austin’s August 2021 memo
directing the services to create a vaccination policy.



“The Department will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for
all Service members,” Austin wrote. “The Department has made COVID-19
vaccination as easy and convenient as possible, resulting in vaccines
administered to over two million Service members and 96 percent of the force ―
Active and Reserve ― being fully vaccinated.”

From early 2020 to early 2022, after the service’s mandates went into effect, 96
active and reserve service members died of COVID-19 complications. Of those, 93
were unvaccinated.

But tens of thousands of requests for religious exemptions plagued the services,
resulting in multiple lawsuits that as of the end of 2022 left the Navy, Marine
Corps and Air Force under injunctions preventing the involuntary separation of
any service members who had been denied a waiver.



RELATED

PENTAGON WORRIES REPEALING COVID VACCINE MANDATE WILL AFFECT READINESS

DEMOCRATIC HOUSE LEADERS NOW SUPPORT THE CHANGE, WHICH HAS BEEN A PRIORITY FOR
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FOR MONTHS.

By Leo Shane III and Meghann Myers

Congressional Republicans pushed back against the mandate, as thousands of
troops were discharged for refusing vaccination, arguing that the separations
were harming readiness and possibly hurting recruiting.

Some lawmakers requested the Pentagon reinstate, with backpay, any troops
involuntarily discharged over their vaccination refusal. That provision did not
end up in the final version of the defense policy bill. Instead, the law’s
language specifically required Austin to rescind his memo creating a mandate.

Austin’s memo directs the services to remove any flags on the personnel records
of troops who are not yet vaccinated and to rescind any letters of reprimand.

Still, any troops who are unvaccinated may be barred from certain assignments or
deployments, Austin wrote, “including when vaccination is required to travel to,
or entry into, a foreign nation.”



Service members who received general discharges for failing to obey orders to
get vaccinated may petition their service’s discharge review board or board for
correction of records to upgrade their discharge characterizations, he added.

Additional guidance will come from the Pentagon’s personnel chief, he wrote.

“The Department’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts will leave a lasting legacy in
the many lives we saved, the world-class Force we have been able to field, and
the high level of readiness we have maintained, amidst difficult public health
conditions,” Austin wrote.

About Meghann Myers

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers
operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service
members.

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TAGS:

covid-19 vaccine militarymilitary vaccine mandatecongress covid-19 vaccine

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THE ARMY HAS GONE TO GREAT LENGTHS TO ERASE THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH WITH
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MORE PHARMACIES REJOIN TRICARE NETWORK. ARE THERE ENOUGH?

AN ADDITIONAL 4,356 INDEPENDENT PHARMACIES WILL REJOIN THE TRICARE RETAIL
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MARINE COLONEL RELIEVED OF COMMAND AMID INVESTIGATION INTO ACV MISHAP

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CONFIDENCE IN HIS ABILITY TO COMMAND.”



MARINE VET ADMITS TO DEFRAUDING VA, THREATENING INVESTIGATOR

KAMIL WAKULIK, 38, CLAIMED TO HAVE GOTTEN PTSD FROM RECOVERING DEAD BODIES AFTER
NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THAILAND AS A MARINE.


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What stories will dominate the new year? A 2023 look ahead, pt. 1
Military and defense correspondents look at the most consequential stories
poised to make headlines in 2023, including the pace of Ukraine war aid.

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WHAT STORIES WILL DOMINATE THE NEW YEAR? A 2023 LOOK AHEAD, PT. 1



NEW RIFLES AND AIRCRAFT FOR U.S. FORCES IN 2023



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THE BIGGEST STORIES OF 2023 | DEFENSE NEWS WEEKLY FULL EPISODE 1.7.23




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MORE PHARMACIES REJOIN TRICARE NETWORK. ARE THERE ENOUGH?



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