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 forcing retiring Marines to get the vaccine anyway:

Even people who are about to retire or about to get out are still being forced to get the vaccine, which is completely nonsensical, because if it’s about health and readiness of the force, how does someone who’s about to be a civilian impact health and readiness of the force?

This has led US Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) to ask the Marines for an explanation. Said Issa’s staff:

the Marine Corps either approved the two RAs to give the appearance that religious rights are being respected, have made an error they have yet to correct, or are intentionally misleading the public.

Meanwhile, the Navy has been stopped from punishing about 30 SEALs who have requested an exemption from the vaccine, with help from the First Liberty Institute, and an Air Force officer has sued to exert her religious freedom with the help of The Thomas More Society.

The US military continues to use “military readiness” as a trump card over any objections to the vaccine. While it seems reasonable to claim that the military cannot afford having entire units or ships becoming infected and thus combat ineffective, such a justification fails in the face of mounting evidence — and even some official acknowledgements from the CDC — that the vaccine may reduce hospitalization and death, but has a “lower effectiveness” in preventing infection. The term “military readiness” is simply a vague demand for deference to avoid having to justify a knee-jerk, mass response. Unfortunately, it is also contributing to the perception the military’s mandates are political theater rather than military or medical necessity.

Similarly, the US Army has claimed it hasn’t thrown anyone out “solely for refusing to get the shot,” but that’s just semantics. Those who refuse the vaccine are given adverse letters of reprimand — and then they’re discharged for having adverse reports in their files.

That’s the same logic used to fire commanders who haven’t received the vaccine. The Navy seems to say it hasn’t done so, but rather relieved them for a “loss of confidence” in their ability to lead or perform their duties — a pro forma description that has been used to describe everything from criminal activity to an inappropriate relationship.

The US military is no stranger to en masse reactions to localized events. All it takes is one too many DUIs and all military members are prohibited from local bars. Accusations of racial or sexual harassment in the press? There will be mandatory sensitivity training — for everyone — in military units by Tuesday. The January 6 riot at the Capitol — a single event involving a few hundred people, almost entirely civilians — led to more than a million US troops receiving “training” on the topic of “extremism”.

Sometimes the military’s reaction is a legitimate attempt to get its arms around a significant event. Sometimes its little more than signaling, going through motions to reassure someone — the press, Congress? — that it is doing something, anything, even if that “something” is worthless.

At this point, the US military would be better off saying the vaccine mandate was a mass requirement not because of military readiness, but because it just didn’t have any better ideas.

At least then they’d be telling the truth.

Also at USNI News.

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