Tag Archives: Constitution

Marines Accused of Farce After Granting Two Religious Vaccine Exemptions

The US Marine Corps has reportedly granted two Marines the freedom to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine — the first, and only, exemptions of the 13,000 requests made in the US military. This seems like a (very) small step in the right direction, but reports indicate both of those Marines had already been denied and then had to appeal – and the only reason their appeals were approved was they were both already outprocessing the Corps, essentially making their exemption moot [emphasis added]:

One of the Marines, according to the officer, was on terminal leave when the appeal was granted, meaning that member was already in the process of separating from the military.

The other Marine who was granted an appeal, according to the officer, was in the SkillBridge program, which allows members who are within 180 days of release from active duty to locate career opportunities as they transition into civilian life.

So now the Marines can rebut accusations of “blanket denials” by showing that they have granted two (two!) exemptions to US Marines who asked for a religious exemption…and who will shortly be civilians.

Mike Berry, First Liberty’s General Counsel, is incredulous, noting the US military has repeatedly highlighted the fact it hasn’t granted a religious exemption to vaccines in decades — and yet, suddenly it did.

That said, an inside source indicated the Marines were still Read more

District Court Stays Navy SEAL Vaccine Requirement

In a little reported headline, a US District Court judge issued a temporary injunction preventing the US military from punishing or discharging 35 US Navy SEALs and reservists who have religious objections to the COVID vaccine:

Judge Reed O’Connor, the U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas, issued the stay in response to a lawsuit filed by First Liberty Institute in November on behalf of 35 active-duty SEALs and three reservists seeking a religious exemption…

Despite saying they would offer a religious exemption, the US military has famously granted exactly zero such exemptions (of more than 15,000 requests), leading to skepticism of Read more

Navy SEALS File Lawsuit Over COVID Vaccine Religious Exemptions

First Liberty Institute has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf 26 US Navy SEALs, 5 Navy EOD techs, and 3 Navy Divers who have religious objections to the mandated COVID vaccine, yet aren’t being granted religious exemptions. As noted at FoxNews [emphasis added]:

Fox News previously reported that for some SEALs seeking religious exemptions to the mandate, the process is nearly impossible to successfully complete to get a waiver. In addition, a series of new directives by the Navy are promising severe punishment, including court-martial (criminal) prosecution, revocation of special operator status, drastic pay cuts and a ban on travel for SEALs who do not comply with the mandate by the end of November.

After the lawsuit was filed, Stars and Stripes noted no branch of the military has Read more

MRFF Falsely Claims US Navy “Banned” Bibles on POW/MIA Table

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, created and run by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, falsely claimed yesterday that the US Navy had “banned” a Christian Bible. The context was the presence of a “missing man” or POW/MIA table at the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) in Alameda, California. (A NOSC isn’t a Navy base, but a small facility that helps Navy Reservists maintain their readiness.) The MRFF routinely complains about Bibles being included in the displays, and this time also took issue with the specific Bible on the table. Weinstein’s sometime-research assistant Christine “Chris” Rodda put it this way [emphasis added]:

A POW/MIA table in the facility’s break room not only contains a Christian Bible, but the particular Bible displayed is the Holman “Sailor’s Bible,” one of the Holman military Bibles with the official branch emblem that MRFF got banned by the military back in 2012!

Someone must have had an old edition of this Bible…and decided to add it to the display, not only turning the table, which should honor ALL POWs and MIAs, into a divisive display of Christian privilege but doing so with a Bible that has been banned by the Navy for nearly a decade.

Later, Mikey – who never met an adjective he didn’t like – claimed the Bible had been “explicitly banned.”

One would think that a branch of the US military “banning” a Bible would be big news, but for some reason it’s never come up.

Probably because Chris Rodda isn’t telling the truth (again).

In 2004, B&H Publishing Group received Read more

USAF Christian Pilot Objects to COVID Mask, Vaccine

Though it doesn’t seem to have broken into the mainstream press, a US Air Force instructor pilot at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, has been fighting for months to have the military honor his religious objection to wearing a mask. Two of the pilot’s superiors approved the request, despite some misgivings. However, a third superior overturned that approval. As discussed in July:

The unnamed airman, identified as Capt. John Doe by the nonprofit First Amendment litigation firm Liberty Counsel, argues his “Christian beliefs do not permit him to wear a mask,” said the firm, which specializes in religious freedom cases. He was suspended from duty on May 17 and from flying on June 8…

As hills to die on go, this wouldn’t be an ideal choice… but he does have a point.

In the Air Force policy requiring masks published last February, the very first exception was for religious beliefs:

Effective immediately all individuals on Department property…will wear masks… The DAF-wide exceptions are as follows:

(1) when necessary to reasonably accommodate a religious belief…

Capt “Doe” notes that two chaplains verified Read more

Mikey Weinstein Fights Oppression of Vacation Bible School

Early in June, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s so-called “religious freedom” group ensured the sanctity of religious liberty in the US military by forcing the leaders of Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to pull down a banner advertising Vacation Bible School at the chapel:

An advocacy group that says it fights “church/state violations and noxious abuse” in the military said Friday it forced the removal of a banner advertising a Vacation Bible School program from the main gate at the Fort Sill Army Base in Oklahoma.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation…said the banner’s slogan, “Jesus [Power] Pulls Us Through,” was objectionable when displayed at the base entrance.

Here’s the thing: VBS has been extremely popular at military bases throughout Read more

General Declines to Punish Chaplain Calvert over Transgender Comments

The Army has decided not to punish US Army Chaplain (Maj) Andrew Calvert with a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand, creating the path for his record to be cleared.

In January, Calvert commented on an Army Times Facebook post that discussed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s support for allowing transgenders to serve in the US military. Calvert’s comments – which questioned the mental fitness of transgenders for military service and noted the similarity with believing the earth to be flat in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary – drew criticisms and a formal investigation.

The Army’s 15-6 investigation declared that Chaplain Calvert had committed unlawful discrimination and improper political activity – points that didn’t seem to be supported by the facts. Further, since Chaplain Calvert was clearly expressing his personal and religious views – and not any official view of the Army – it was the Army, not Calvert, that was treading close to violating the law and military policies. As First Liberty Institute stated in an appeal letter published in May: Read more

LtCol Matthew Lohmeier: Marxism in the US Military and the Emperor’s New Clothes

US Air Force LtCol Matthew Lohmeier became an almost overnight celebrity after he was fired from his command in the Space Force following a podcast interview in which he decried a rising Marxist/Critical Race Theory movement within the US military. (His profile has risen so fast that you can be sure Michael “Mikey” Weinstein is trying to figure out a way to hitch his cause to Lohmeier’s publicity.)

The former F-15 fighter pilot and T-38 flight instructor self-published a book titled “Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military” and was on a Read more

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