Thousands of Air Force personnel could face dismissal from the ranks for defying an order to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 2, a first test of the Pentagon’s vaccination mandate that is being closely watched by the nation’s other military services.
Any airman who has refused to obtain the qualifying vaccine by the deadline and hasn’t received or applied for a medical exemption or religious accommodation is in violation of a lawful order and subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Air Force officials said.
According to Air Force figures, the vast majority of the service’s 326,000 active personnel — more than 95% — are fully vaccinated with more than 96% having had at least one shot. There are about 326,000 members of the Air Force. But that still leaves some 12,000-plus pilots, technicians, and other key personnel potentially subject to the dismissal order, at a time when the Air Force, Navy and other services are facing serious questions about their overall readiness.
“To those yet to get vaccinated, the order is clear: You have a responsibility to take action now, protect our nation and those who we love, or be held accountable for failing to do so,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a statement.
An Air Force spokeswoman on Monday said the service did not have the exact number of personnel who have declined to take the vaccine. Additional figures are expected to be released once Tuesday’s deadline passes, officials said.
The Navy is set to follow with a Nov. 28 deadline for all active-duty sailors to be fully vaccinated, while those in the selected reserve have another month after that.
The Air Force has seen almost 43,500 cases of coronavirus — including six deaths — since the start of the pandemic, according to its statistics.
Military leaders expressed alarm earlier this year after relatively slow initial rates of vaccination in the ranks, and the debate has by no means died out. A senior U.S. Army flight surgeon with specialized training in infectious diseases has filed an affidavit against the Defense Department’s mandate, warning that problematic heart side effects may cause pilots to die in midflight.
Lt. Col. Theresa Long, the surgeon responsible for certifying the fitness of 4,000 flight-ready airmen at the 1st Aviation Brigade in Ft. Rucker, Alabama, said that she is concerned that the vaccines can cause inflamed heart muscles in young men in the age range of most flight-ready pilots and that the Department of Defense has not followed its own protocols by requiring an MRI scan of each airman after vaccination.
New recruits to the Air Force have been briefed on the requirements of the COVID-19 vaccine — and the consequences of refusing the shot — since mid-September. Starting on Oct. 10, trainees also must sign a memorandum stating they understand the requirement to receive all vaccines, including for COVID-19, upon entry into the service.
“If they refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, their squadron commander will issue a written order that states they must receive the vaccine,” Air Force officials said. “If they refuse a second time, meaning they have now disobeyed an order twice, they will then be processed for an entry-level separation.”
As of Oct. 26, the Air Force had discharged 23 trainees in boot camp and 17 others in follow-on technical training for refusing the vaccine. Their discharges are characterized as an entry-level separation because they were on active duty for fewer than 180 days.
On Aug. 24, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin mandated that all members of the armed forces receive the COVID-19 vaccine, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the vaccines. He has delegated responsibility to the individual services for determining how to deal with vaccine-refusing personnel, and the early evidence is that holdouts potentially face grave consequences but that the generals and admirals will be offering an extended grace period beyond the mandate date.
Mr. Austin “wants them to execute the mandate with a sense of compassion and understanding,” chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “He knows, as a former commander himself, that leaders have a wide range of tools available to them to help troops make the right decision — short of punitive measures.”
If necessary, the questioning airmen will receive counseling from unit leaders, medical providers and chaplains about how critical public health experts believe the vaccine to be. The services have been given wide latitude on how the program will be implemented.
“It’s a lawful order. Commanders will ultimately do what they need to do for readiness,” Mr. Kirby said.
While airmen have the right to claim a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate, that means meeting with a chaplain who will conduct an interview to determine if the request is sincere, officials said. To date, it appears that just a tiny handful of such applications have been accepted.
“In the Air Force chaplain corps, we’ve been very intentional in ensuring that not only the chaplains understand their role, but that the airmen also understand the role of the chaplain in this capacity,” Col. Donnette Boyd, command chaplain for Air Education and Training Command in San Antonio, said in a statement.
The coronavirus can strike new recruits and senior military leaders. Last week, Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and cyber effect operations, confirmed that she had COVID-19 even after being fully vaccinated.
“Don’t assume just because you’re healthy you’ll avoid a severe case – and maybe worse,” she tweeted. “Protect yourself and those you love.”