Oklahoma National Guard Won’t Impose Biden’s Vaccine Mandate — Defying Pentagon
The backlash against Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate backlash continues.
The Oklahoma National Guard has announced they will not impose Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate.
Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino wrote in a memo that “no negative administrative or legal action will be taken” against anyone who doesn’t get the vaccine.
Oklahoma National Guard defies Pentagon, won’t impose COVID-19 vaccine mandate | Just The News https://t.co/Z6BiA0nLxw
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) November 13, 2021
The newly installed head of the Oklahoma National Guard has ordered that troops under his command will not be forced to comply with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the armed forces.
“No Oklahoma Guardsman will be required to take the COVID-19 Vaccine,” Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino wrote in a Thursday memo. The memo was at odds with a Defense Department directive that the “total force” – including the National Guard – must be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Mancino noted in the memo that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is the organization’s “lawful Commander in Chief” when not under federal orders, implying that Stitt – not Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin – has the final call on any vaccine mandate.
Mancino wrote in the memo that “no negative administrative or legal action will be taken” against guard members who do not get the vaccine.
The Biden administration is also facing lawsuits against the mandate.
Military members, federal employees, and contractors all joined a class-action lawsuit against Biden’s federal vaccine mandate.
Two dozen military members, federal employees, and federal civilian contractors have joined in a massive class-action lawsuit against the Biden administration’s federal mandatory vaccine policy. The group includes members from all five branches of the US military, including Navy Seals, Green Berets, and several high-ranking officers.
The Liberty Council – a Christian legal firm – filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, on behalf of the 24 plaintiffs who oppose the vaccine because of their deeply held religious beliefs. So far, they have been “refused any religious exemption or accommodation” for the mandate.
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated their commitments to the United States Constitution and the Nation’s future comfort, security, and prosperity. This Court should demand that the Nation return the favor.
Telling Plaintiffs they must accept or receive a shot they oppose according to their sincerely held religious beliefs, or face court martial, dishonorable discharge, and other life altering disciplinary measures, disgraces the sacrifices these heroes have made.”
