Despite public opposition to terminating the covid vaccine mandate for service members, the President signed it into law in the recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Chairman of the Board for Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, Inc. (STARRS), Lieutenant General (USAF, Retired) Rod Bishop celebrates this action, “for correcting apparently illegal orders to coerce Service members into taking an experimental vaccine.”
While President Biden dismissed the legislation { https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/21/congress-biden-ndaa-plans-00074939} as a ‘hollow victory ‘because “98% of the force is already vaccinated,” Dr. Ron Scott (Colonel, USAF, Retired), President of STARRS, observed that “we do not know how many of that 98% acquiesced to the vaccination to avoid punitive action, such as an involuntary discharge without benefits.”
Remedies for those “victimized” by the mandatory orders are important, argued Mike Rose, STARRS General Counsel. “Thousands have been discharged while thousands more faced a similar fate had the Courts not imposed injunctions,” Rose said.
“Even if the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security (the US Coast Guard comes under DHS) are generous in reinstating those discharged, many may elect not to rejoin the Service as they have already transitioned into other jobs,” said Major General (USA, Retired) Joe Arbuckle, Vice Chairman of the STARRS Board. “Not to mention bitterness that can be difficult to overcome. Other issues involve correcting records to allow victims to be re-established for assignment and promotion purposes.”
Scott believes Congressional investigations and hearings will be important to seek appropriate remedies and to promote accountability where appropriate. “This will be important to the healing process during a time when recruiting has badly suffered,” Scott said.
As reported in the Military Times, in contrast to the anthrax vaccine mandate, halted by judicial rulings, the current COVID vaccine military mandate is being repealed through unprecedented legislative action. Corrections over anthrax vaccine injustices were almost nonexistent due to the decades-long diversion caused by the anthrax letter attacks of 2001.
“Congress needs to mandate how the remedies process for COVID will happen,” said Rose. “For example, if the Boards of Correction of Military Records are going to decide on remedies, Congress should investigate its past failures in remedying the illegal anthrax vaccine mandate punishments of military members and mandate what the Boards for Correction of Military Records (BCMRs) must do to remedy the COVID vaccine mandates punishments.”
Rose favors Congress (1) mandating certain remedies across the board for those who fit certain criteria and (2) a special board to implement these remedies. “It is best not to use the BCMRs because they already have a workload and it is harder to fix an entity with a history of delays, etc. than to create a new entity unencumbered with its past,” he said.
Additionally, STARRS has been forwarded a Department of Defense document CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) — Public Affairs guidance on — Rescinding the COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate.
“My sense is the method in which this is being distributed is an attempt to avoid transparency and completely isolates the department/agency from ’we the people’” Bishop concludes.
STARRS NOTES SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE DOD/PA GUIDANCE DOCUMENT:
From the document: “Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced on August 9, 2021, his intent to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for military personnel, either under EUA with presidential waiver or upon formal FDA licensure. The FDA formally licensed the Pfizer-BioNTech-developed COMIRNATY COVID-19 vaccine on August 23, 2021.” According to Scott, this claim is a classic “bait and switch” deception because “there was no presidential waiver for the EUA version and COMIRNATY was never made available in America. Military personnel were coerced to take the EUA version.”
From the document: “Our data and analysis do not indicate a strong correlation between the COVID-19 vaccination requirement and our current recruiting challenges.” Scott said, “This implies that there is a correlation, albeit not a “strong” one. Other factors likely contributed to a strong correlation with dismal recruiting such as Critical Race Theory indoctrination, enforced by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff members.”
From the document: “More than 98 percent of active-duty Service members and 96 percent of the Total Force are fully vaccinated.” “What percentage of these vaccinated chose to be vaccinated to avoid punitive measures,” Scott notes.
From the document: “The following data suggest that many, not counted in the percentages above, chose punitive measures, such as involuntary discharge, to avoid the vaccination:
• Army: 85.8 percent received a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge. Note: a General Discharge makes an individual ineligible for veteran benefits.
• Air Force: 93.5 percent received a General Discharge.
• Marine Corps: 94.1 percent received a General Discharge.”
“The unfortunate tone characterizing the document is one of rationalization to mollify the illegal/coercive actions taken by DoD leadership,” Scott said.
ABOUT STARRS:
Established in Spring 2021, STARRS is a 501(c)3 approved organization. The nonprofit operates primarily to provide educational information, assistance, and materials related to racism and radicalism in the military. The public can learn more about STARRS, its mission, and how they can assist, volunteer, and donate at https://www.starrs.us.
STARRS MEDIA CONTACT
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+1 719-651-5943
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