Air Force is first to face troops' rejection of vaccine mandate as thousands avoid shots

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Up to 12,000 Air Force personnel have rejected orders to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus despite a Pentagon mandate and officials say it is too late for them to do so by Tuesday's deadline, posing a first major test for military leaders whose August directive has been met with defiance among a segment of the force.

The vast majority of active-duty airmen, 96.4%, are at least partially vaccinated, according to data from the Air Force. But officials have warned that, barring an approved medical or religious exemption, those who defy lawful orders to be fully immunized are subject to punishment, including possible dismissal from the service or they could be charged in the military justice system.

The challenge now confronting Air Force leaders - how to address potential large-scale dissent in the face of a top health priority that has been deeply politicized - is a bellwether for the dilemma that's in store across the military's other services, which have staggered compliance deadlines ranging from the end of November to the middle of next summer and in some cases have experienced far greater resistance to President Joe Biden's mandate.

A wave of dismissals could jolt the Air Force personnel system and cause significant challenges within units that must be ready to respond to crises at a moment's notice, especially if some vital jobs - like pilots or aircraft maintainers - are overrepresented among those who could face expulsion, said Katherine Kuzminski, a military policy expert at the Washington think tank Center for a New American Security.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/air-force-first-face-troops-224930865.html

[bluestarone]

1. DUMP them

ALL!! (THESE are TFG'S CULT!

[rockfordfile]

13. I agree. They're being un-American. To be a part of our Armed Forces you should be vac

We have 700k Americans dead from covid. We know that Russia have been behind the lies against our vaccines. So to be in our Armed Forces and basically supporting Russia should be a red flag.

[msongs]

2. AF requires a variety of vaccinations to my knowledge. even as an AF brat had to have

them esp when we got sent to the tropics

[tinrobot]

3. 3.6% is not "large-scale dissent"

Sure, 12,000 sounds like a large number, but it isn't when viewed as a percentage.

Charge them or discharge them. Good riddance.

[uponit7771]

18. +1, we just have a huge standing military so that number sounds large. Dump then

[Hekate]

21. Math is hard for some journalists;I'm pretty sick of this kind of "reporting." Also, US Navy already

… dealt with their own recalcitrant folks (or soon will, it was announced a couple of weeks ago). Consequences are loss of commission, discharge, and (I love this part) reimbursment of Uncle Sam for all the education they received.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. I thought the failure to obey an order from the CIC or another ranking officer was grounds for

dismissal or court martial.

[dem4decades]

5. Isn't Colorado Springs a right wing hot bed?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. Yep. Are we seeing the results of 20 plus years of right wing Christian pollution?

[catrose]

7. That's what I was thinking--very Evangelical

[former9thward]

26. Colorado Springs has nothing to do with this.

That is where the academy is. Most people in the air force never see or have anything to do with the academy.

[Sancho]

8. Let them go...the MIC needs to downsize anyway.

[walkingman]

11. +1

[mchill]

9. Don't need them

Teaching our children,
Caring for the sick,
And certainly not defending us from their version of freedom.

[BootinUp]

10. Just penalize. nt

[Baked Potato]

12. Orders are orders. I'm sure the AF will survive.

The armed forces must do exactly what the directives and orders stated with regard to repercussions. This is just another inevitable process to work through.

If nothing happens and the non-vaxxers are left to disobey orders, then we may as well expect other orders will be laughed away too.

[twin_ghost]

14. We are no longer at war. If they refuse the shoot discharge them from the service.

They don't need to use the UCMJ. The discharge would be a simple for the good of the service. One thing you learn in the military is that everyone is replaceable.

[Thomas Hurt]

15. They are fn fascist trumpers discharge them. Don't need these nutjobs around weapons of war.

[Mr.Bill]

16. What does the military do

when someone refuses to take vaccines when they first join? Whatever it is, do that.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

17. Throw 'em in Levinworth*.

Failure to obey a lawful order. That'll hurt them worse than dishonorable discharges.

(*For the civilians here, that's military prison.)

[former9thward]

27. The military does not "throw" people into Leavenworth.

Only specific crimes are eligible for that type of sentence and this is not one of them.

[demigoddess]

30. that is Leavenworth, please.

as a born military brat, I say kick them out. Leavenworth is too good for them.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

31. Sorry for the misspelling...

I got out of the USAF IN '82.

[ZonkerHarris]

19. Discharge, no pension, no benefits. Didn't follow orders.

[former9thward]

28. Pensions are legally vested.

They can't be taken away if already earned.

[tanyev]

20. OK.

[Hekate]

22. Follow the lead of the US Navy and advise these yokels they are about to lose their commissions...

… and have to reimburse Uncle Sam for the cost of their educations. Wakey-wakey, guys.

[SKKY]

23. This doesn't surprise me in the least...

...having been stationed at joint commands for the majority of my 20-year Navy career, I found the Air Force to be the most conservative branch of the armed forces by a country mile.

[sarcasmo]

24. Back in the mid 80's the military had no problem telling us. we didn't have a choice.

[Wingus Dingus]

25. End of their careers. They'll be separated.

[Mad_Machine76]

29. And what happens

If they get sick and/or die from COVID?