New Film Exposes Fallout From Military COVID Vaccine Mandates

STARRS leaders were able to preview a new documentary coming out in June about the real-life experiences of those in the military who refused to take the mandated experimental Covid-19 vaccine.

While around 8,500 servicemembers were kicked out of the military for not taking it, it is estimated nearly 100,000 left the military in various ways because of the mandate, which is a tremendous loss. The Pentagon under Secretary of War Hegseth has worked hard undoing the damage and has been highlighting on social media those who have decided to return to duty.

This is a very powerful, important film that documents the tyranny that of the time and should stand as a marker to never let it happen again.

Mike Rose, STARRS Executive Vice President and General Counsel, said, “This film is very educational, especially for those largely uninformed, describing the history of the anthrax and COVID vaccines, the nature of the illegalities pertaining to them, the harms caused to service members by them, and remedies, sought and given.”

Since 2021, STARRS has worked to help academy cadets and servicemembers who were affected by the vax mandate, and worked with Congress to stop the Covid-19 vax from being mandated in the military. We are now working on remedies for those servicemembers affected by the vax issue. STARRS received much pushback and disbelief from peers about our work in this area. There should be no doubt after watching this film that STARRS was right to work on this issue.

Watch Film Trailer:

Duty to Disobey film website where you can buy tickets to watch it online when it premiers on June 9, 2025 or watch it in theaters on June 30, 2026.

‘Duty to Disobey’: New Film Exposes Fallout From Military COVID Vaccine Mandates

By Jill Erzen | The Defender

Military personnel burst into a locked room, shouting “Get on the floor! Get on the floor!” as they restrain a fellow service member who refused a COVID-19 vaccine.

The scene, captured in the documentary “Duty to Disobey,” reflects what filmmakers and people interviewed in the film describe as the real-world consequences of the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate — consequences that are still unfolding years after the policy was rescinded.

The film, backed by Children’s Health Defense (CHD), is scheduled for a one-day theatrical release on June 30 in more than 140 theaters. Screenings at each location will go forward only if enough tickets are sold by May 15.

The U.S. armed forces implemented the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in August 2021. According to accounts cited in the film, service members who declined the vaccine faced consequences ranging from dishonorable discharge and loss of income and health benefits to restrictions on movement and work. Some were placed in isolation or confinement.

Within months, similar mandates extended into civilian life.

Attorney R. Davis Younts, a retired Air Force officer, said the military experience carries broader implications.

“If we as a nation cannot protect the constitutional rights of our military members, that is dangerous for all of society because all of their rights will get trampled, too,” he told The Defender.

CHD CEO Mary Holland said that concern drove CHD to get involved with the film.

“What happened in the military was illegal, and we care about following the law,” Holland said. “The members of the military became lab rats during COVID. And we know that what happens in the military becomes a blueprint for what eventually happens to the public.”

Filmmakers and advocates say the documentary is a record of events and a warning about future policy.

Producer Tobias Tommey said he hopes the film drives action “at the highest levels of military leadership” for how the mandate was carried out and for its lasting effects on service members’ lives.

He said the project began when CHD Military Chapter Director Pam Long approached him in early 2025.

“After my initial call with her and the CHD Military Chapter, I began to understand the scale and seriousness of the issue and the need to shine a light on it,” Tommey said.

Although the military rescinded the mandate in January 2023, those involved in the film say the damage did not end there.

The documentary cites reported health problems among vaccinated service members — including stroke, cancer, flu, nerve damage, high blood pressure and Guillain-Barré syndrome — and includes accounts from medical personnel and troops who say health data were misrepresented and concerns were dismissed.

The film also addresses legal and ethical questions surrounding the mandate. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, unapproved medical products authorized under emergency use are voluntary, and recipients must be informed of their right to refuse them.

Service members interviewed in the film said the vaccine they were ordered to take fell into that category, making the mandate unlawful.

Younts said that conflict goes to the core of military training and duty. “You are taught that you have a duty to disobey unlawful orders,” he said.

He also said the mandate “eroded trust in the military” and created “a constitutional crisis for the very people who are supposed to give their lives to support and defend that constitution.”

Long, a veteran, said the military discharged more than 8,000 service members for refusing to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Another 95,000 left “voluntarily,” often under pressure to avoid disciplinary action.

While the mandate was rescinded in 2023, efforts to address its fallout are incomplete.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to reinstate discharged service members with restored rank, back pay and benefits. In April, DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum clarifying those procedures.

However, Long said key issues remain unresolved. The department has not broadly provided back pay, and disciplinary records tied to vaccine refusal largely remain.

As of now, only about 150 service members have been reinstated, she said.

Long and others say more action is needed, including correcting discharge statuses, restoring retirement benefits and reforming the religious accommodation process. Long also called for accountability for those who enforced the mandate, saying an apology alone is not enough.

Service members in the film echo that call.

“We are at a crossroads, and the soul of our nation is at stake,” Air Force Major Brennan “Skip” Schilperoort told The Defender. He added:

“Are we going to lay down without protest and submit ourselves willingly to unlawful government overreach, or are we going to stand on our rights as the rightful authority of this nation — We The People — and remind the government that we are its boss and put it back in its rightful place?!”

Legal challenges are ongoing. In October 2025, a federal appeals court revived a religious discrimination lawsuit over the military’s mandate, ruling the case was not moot just because the mandate had since been rescinded.

The DOD also announced plans to launch two task forces to review how the mandate was implemented.

Critics of the mandate say it also had lasting effects on military readiness.

“This is a national security issue because we have an all-volunteer force,” Younts said. “Many members, even those who got the vaccine, saw how people were treated, and it has made them skeptical. If we don’t do better, it’s going to have a generational impact on our national security.”

In March, the DOD extended the reenlistment deadline for affected service members to April 1, 2027.

Air Force Lt. Col. Carolyn Rocco, a founder of CHD’s Military Chapter, said the film was created to preserve firsthand accounts and push for policy change.

“This film is important to see because the strength of our country will be a result of how strong our military is,” she said. “If our military purges people of conscience, faith and integrity, we will be left with nothing but careerists and ‘yes-men’ who will not question the orders of their superior.”

Rocco said she helped spearhead the film project to “memorialize the stories that tens of thousands of service members experienced” and to help lawmakers and the public understand what happened.

“To ensure this type of atrocity never happens again, we need to ensure people … understand how the laws, policies and regulations were ignored to ensure shots went into the arms of every service member,” she said.

Rocco emphasized that the film does not promote defiance for its own sake.

“We do not encourage insubordination, but we most definitely support and encourage questioning orders that appear to be illegal, immoral and/or unethical, such as the COVID vaccine mandate,” she said.

Organizers plan to screen the film for members of Congress in Washington, D.C., as part of an effort to build support for legislation addressing the mandate’s aftermath.

They are also urging supporters to secure theater screenings nationwide by purchasing tickets before May 15. Theaters that reach 50% capacity by that date will show the film on June 30.

For those involved, the project illustrates how ending the vaccine mandate did not resolve the issues it created.

“There must be accountability for COVID-19 now at all levels,” Schilperoort said. “If not, this WILL happen again.”

Views expressed in the film do not necessarily reflect the views of STARRS.