Once again it’s “Republicans to the rescue” of America.
In a forceful bid to bolster our military readiness, 14 leading Republicans sent a letter Wednesday to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requesting that he finally begin following the science and eliminate his disastrous vaccine mandate.
Despite incontrovertible empirical evidence that the available Covid vaccines do not necessarily protect against getting or spreading the disease, President Joe Biden’s administration and his Department of Defense are still “clinging to their shots and religion” of vaccine mandates.
This bullheaded obstinacy has led to a crucial shortfall in the staffing of our armed forces, with 45,000 National Guardsmen having to sit it out with no pay to support themselves and their families since June because they are unvaccinated. This is either because of their legitimate concerns about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine or because they have yet to receive an answer on their application for a religious exemption.
The Republican letter to Austin was written by Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. The Florida lawmaker is the first Green Beret elected to Congress.
GOP Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik and more than a dozen colleagues including Republican Study Committee leader Rep. Jim Banks signed the letter authored by Waltz.
Rep. Waltz led Republican colleagues in a letter urging the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to consider the CDC’s August 11, 2022 guidance in Department of Defense’s policy requirements for members of the armed services. pic.twitter.com/rRKmgQymCB
— Congressman Waltz Press (@RepWaltzPress) August 31, 2022
Recent reports indicated that the military has additionally been falling far short of its recruiting goals, and in fact has had to reduce those goals. Combined with the loss of National Guard troops due to the vaccine mandate, this creates a self-inflicted danger–an unforced error–at a time when there is an abundance of peril to America, its allies, and its strategic interests.
These 45,000 National Guardsmen, representing nearly 10% of the National Guard forces, are not only off duty until vaccinated or their exemption is granted, but they are being banned from crucial training exercises needed to ready them for the next national crisis.
“Lawful orders must be followed by our service members, but it is also the duty of the military officers and Department of Defense officials appointed over them to thoughtfully reconsider any standing order that has been rendered invalid as the facts on the ground change,” the letter stated.
According to Daily Mail:
On a more targeted scale, Waltz asked Austin to consider whether any ‘military
specialties or occupations’ could be exempt from the vaccine mandate and if the
Pentagon has taken into account the long term effects the mandate would have on
current recruitment issues.House Republicans’ letter also targets the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ – grilling
Austin on whether it will shift based on updated guidance about booster shots, and
if natural immunity to COVID-19 recovery or treatment could be taken into
account.
This is not the first effort by Republicans to get the DOD to wake up and drop the mandate. Earlier this summer a similar letter was sent with no result except the Administration and Secretary’s continued desperate clinging.
The need to completely change the direction that our military is headed will be paramount when Republicans once again gain control of Congress. In the meantime, they can only point out the insanity. Unfortunately, this is the same insanity that our dangerous adversaries–whether nuclear North Korea, nuclear-aspiring Iran, invading Russia, or invasion-aspiring China–are intently studying.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- I want a burger like THAT picture in the window! - November 1, 2022
- Half dozen NY sheriffs say they won’t fully enforce state’s new gun law that ‘targets law-abiding citizens’ - October 11, 2022
- ‘Knives or cutting implements’ used in over half as many homicides than rifles, FBI data shows - October 11, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
