Tag Archives: Military

Report: Navy Violating Vaccine Mandate Injunction

As previously reported, a US District Court has told the US Navy not to punish or discharge nearly three dozen SEALs and other operators who have religious objections to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, First Liberty Institute, representing those SEALs, says the Navy is continuing to mistreat the sailors in violation of the court’s order:

One of those included a service member, identified as “Navy SEAL 26,” who requested permission to travel to a program for traumatic brain injuries. According to the complaint, “multiple high-ranking Naval officers in SEAL 26’s command began calling the treatment center and asking if it would deny treatment to someone who is unvaccinated.”

It added that the treatment center wouldn’t comply but “the result is that the Navy ran out the clock on SEAL 26’s request again: the treatment center had to give his spot to another patient because SEAL 26 had not been given approval to attend.”

Within the rules of the military, this is arguably a common technique to take punitive action without actually taking action. The Navy can try to say, with some disingenuous sincerity, that according to its policies “no adverse action” was taken against the SEAL — because there was no official “action” taken. Worse, the sailors can’t “appeal” an administrative non-action, leaving them with no recourse.

In this case, however, the Navy is not beholden only to Read more

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

Mikey Weinstein Brings in More Cash…for Less Work?

The accountant for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation seems to have finally found his stride, as Weinstein’s charity has filed its last two public disclosures in relatively record time.

That said, the rest of the story is just about the same. Despite the fact the finances of Mikey Weinstein’s “charity” have been publicly criticized (and again, just recently), his ethically suspect practices continue.

As in prior years, in 2019 the largest expense for Weinstein’s self-founded “charity” was his own compensation, totaling $364,241. That’s in line with what he paid himself in 2018. The MRFF’s total ‘take’, however, actually fell to $663,335. Though the “charity’s” income was down substantially, Weinstein’s pay remained essentially the same, meaning the direct compensation for his “work” at the MRFF was a solid 54.9% of its revenue, one of the highest percentages to date.

(In defending his exorbitant salary — which the Military Times previously called “unheard of” — Mikey said

My salary is perfectly in line with a ton of other folks that do what they do.

However, Weinstein failed to Read more

Mikey Weinstein and Wreaths Across America

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein made headlines last month when he accused Wreaths Across America, the non-profit that places wreaths in national cemeteries each year, of “carpet bombing” cemeteries with “Christian gang signs.” (That the wreaths are a “Christian gang sign” will come as a surprise to Christians, who for millenia have used several symbols of their faith — but not a wreath.) His initial acerbic press release occurred in November, though it wasn’t until well into December that it hit the major news cycles.

One of the most obvious questions to ask when Weinstein goes after a long-running tradition like the annual Wreaths Across America event is, “why now?” If something is so egregious, why has he waited years to say anything about it? It appears Mikey himself tried to stave off this criticism by claiming he’s “tried to handle each client outreach on a case-by-case basis.” Maybe, but that’s not really Mikey’s style. He’s been known to make public demands and issue scathing press releases mere hours, if not minutes, after receiving a single complaint.

It seems more likely that Weinstein didn’t even really care about WAA. For years, Mikey has stayed Read more

Col Boling New Director of ANG Chaplains, with Diversity

Chaplain (Col) Leah Botona Boling recently became the director of the Air National Guard Chaplain Corps, and the Air Force was quick to point out she was the “first female, person of color” to hold that position. More important to the people she serves, of course, are her beliefs. Oddly, the chaplain’s religious beliefs were rarely mentioned in the articles vaunting her elevation to the position. Speaking of what she brings to the role, she said

I bring the female perspective, the mother perspective, the Filipina perspective and, most important, the Leah Botona Boling perspective.

On one hand, the statement is notable for highlighting that every person brings their “perspectives” with them into every role in which they serve. Boling doesn’t seem to support the idea that a person should leave some part of themselves at the door – read: those who think Christians shouldn’t allow their beliefs to influence their leadership or politics.

At the same time, note the “perspective” the chaplain left out: her faith.

It shouldn’t have been hard to Read more

Air Force Tweaks Pilot Application Standards to Increase Diversity

For more than a year the US Air Force has been working to “remove barriers” to “underrepresented” groups, both within its ranks and for potential recruits. Recently, thanks to the Air Force’s official LGBTQ Initiatives Team, the Air Force even identified and eliminated a “restrictive policy that was being used against transgender Airmen.” (That policy was the longstanding limitation on what was allowed to be in an Air Force signature block, which even Mikey Weinstein has supported. Now, happily, all Airmen can put their preferred pronouns in their signature blocks.)

Other ‘inclusive’ emphasis has been placed on recruiting Air Force pilots.

Last fall, the Air Force made some very specific changes to its 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

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