(Washington Insider Magazine) -Forty recruits in training have been discharged from the Air Force and Space Force after refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination (Military.com).
Current rules state that recruits can either receive their vaccine at boot camp or receive the vaccination before they arrive on site. However, either way, a vaccine is required to partake in the recruit training.
It was confirmed by the Air Force that forty would-be recruits within the basic military and technical training camp have been discharged under ‘entry-level separation characterizations’. This is the first announcement of any separations from a United States service, with Army, Navy and Marine deadlines falling later.
This level of discharge is given to someone who has served under 180 days and does not often carry a label such as ‘other-than-honorable discharge’. It simply points towards a temporary separation until the recruit receives their vaccine, or permanent if they choose not to.
The deadline for vaccinations in the Space Force and Air Force is November 2. However, a two-week period must be served after the second dose of the vaccine in order to reach full immunity, so the deadline was really on October 19.
Statistics showed that almost 95% of all Space Force and Air Force members were full vaccinated by October 26. A further 1.8% were waiting on their second dose, while 12,000 remaining members had missed the deadline outright.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said last week: “To those yet to get vaccinated, the order is clear: You have a responsibility to take action now, protect our nation and those we love, or be held accountable for failing to do so.”
Any non-vaccinated person within the Air Force who is not citing a religious or medical exemption will face Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which involves the failure to obey an order.
Potential punishments for offenders may include reprimands, court-martials, and nonjudicial sentences.
