The U.S. Army announced on Wednesday that it would immediately start terminating the 3,300 soldiers who have refused to comply with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Christine Wormuth, the secretary of the Army, said in a statement. “Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”
“Service members who are discharged for rejecting vaccination will not receive involuntary separation pay, and they may have to pay back incentive bonuses or other special compensation they received,” according to The New York Times.
The Army was the last service branch to begin terminating the unvaccinated.
The Associated Press reports:
The Pentagon has ordered all service members — active-duty, National Guard and Reserves — to get the vaccine, saying it is critical to maintaining the health and readiness of the force. COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the country as a result of the omicron variant.
Roughly 97% of all Army soldiers have gotten at least one shot. More than 3,000 have requested medical or religious exemptions.
The AP adds:
Overall, more than 650 Marines, airmen and sailors have been thrown out of the military or dismissed from entry-level training at boot camps, according to data released this week and last week by the services.
The military services have been going through a methodical process to deal with those who refuse the vaccine as well as those who request medical, administrative or religious exemptions. The reviews require counseling with medical personnel and chaplains as well as senior commanders.