Army sets vaccination deadline for active members, soldiers who refuse shot may be fired

By Harry Wilmerding

The U.S. Army announced Tuesday that all active-duty members must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 15, and those who refuse could face suspension or dismissal.

“While soldiers who refuse the vaccine will first be counseled by their chain of command and medical providers, continued failure to comply could result in administrative or non-judicial punishment- to include relief of duties or discharge,” the Army guidelines said.

The Army started implementing the vaccine mandate on Aug. 24 after the Department of Defense (DOD) required all active duty service members to get the shot. Reserve and National Guard members are required to get the vaccine by June 30, 2022. 

Troops can seek exemptions for the vaccine if they have a legitimate medical, administrative or religious reason, according to the guidelines.

“This is quite literally a matter of life and death for our Soldiers, their families, and the communities in which we live,” the U.S. Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, said in the guidelines.

“Case counts and deaths continue to be concerning as the Delta variant spreads, which makes protecting the force through mandatory vaccination and readiness priority for the total Army,” Dingle said.

The DOD reported 353,000 COVID-19 cases and 455 deaths across its personnel as of Sept. 8, according to data from the department’s website. The percentage of military members with at least one shot jumped to 83% from 76% since the Pentagon issued its vaccine mandate on Aug. 24.

The Army is the last branch of the military to issue vaccination guidelines, according to The New York Times. Navy and Marine active members must be fully vaccinated within 90 days of Aug. 30, and Air Force active-duty troops are required to be fully immunized by Nov. 2.

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5 thoughts on “Army sets vaccination deadline for active members, soldiers who refuse shot may be fired

  1. The unvax’ed military should quit en mass…… why would you want to be led by
    the looser biden and his inept administration and hand picked sissy generals one
    of which has pledged to notify our ENEMY Commie China if we were to plan a attack on them.. Traitors, imbeciles, and liars are not who should be running the military.
    JUST QUIT

    • Military personnel do not have the option to “quit en mass”. They can face court marshal for failing a direct order. As for the last part it may not have reached the point of treason but there are potentially other charges such as behavior unbecoming an officer.

      • I believe that military personnel are not required to follow unconstitutional laws or orders. Would the government actually try to court Marshall 50% of the military?

        As for the charge of treason, there was a clear political coup taking place due the fact that the general ordered his staff to obey his actions under duress and he included Nancy Pelosi in his plan. That is also a conspiracy to violate the constitutional powers of the Commander in Chief who is the elected leader of the country. This was a true insurrection and the act of such is treason. Both Milley and Pelosi should face the consequences of their treacherous acts.

        • Correct on the “not follow a unconstitutional order” Danno
          and the vax mandate IS just that. The fed has no authority
          to demand anyone take it. They actually don’t have to quit as the article stated they would be fired which is also a unconstitutional act..

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