Last November, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin threatened National Guardsmen and reservists who refused the COVID-19 injection, declaring that they would not be eligible for federal training or pay.
This from westernjournal.com.
Last week, the U.S. Army announced that roughly 40,000 National Guardsmen and 22,000 reservists will be prevented from reporting for duty for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Austin’s decision cuts off pay and benefits to the combined 62,000 troops and blocks them from active service and even training.
This is complete anathema to the “total force” concept. Without the National Guard and our reserve military forces, we are incomplete as a fighting force.
1,148 active-duty soldiers have been fired from the service over the vax mandate. But that number is sure to balloon to tens of thousands in the near future unless the vax mandate is canceled.
The effort to halt pay and benefits to those in the military would be irresponsible at any time, but it is reckless and dangerous now, as it undermines our all-volunteer military and places our nation’s security in a perilous position.
If these servicemen and women do not want to be vaccinated, we should support them in that decision. The last thing we want to do is give young people more reasons not to enlist and serve—but that is the effect of the [Obiden] policy.
As reported by the Washington Examiner:
The Army is already having severe difficulty recruiting. The Reserves have only reached 73.6% of its recruiting goal in the 2021 fiscal year. The National Guard reached 80.6% of its 2021 goal and, so far, 48.1% of its 2022 goal.
There has been pushback. The threats of firing and cutting benefits to National Guard troops have sparked outrage among Republican leaders since the Defense Department first announced the mandate, and several governors promised to instruct their respective National Guard units to ignore the mandate—although it is not clear what that means.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, joined by GOP Virginia Reps. Rob Wittman, Morgan Griffith, Ben Cline and Bob Good, sent a letter to Austin arguing that the mandate is “not consistent with the latest science” and “not in the best interest of Guard readiness.” The GOP leaders demanded that the Obiden Regime “indefinitely postpone” the mandate. Again, helpful, but asking the Obiden Regime to reconsider is more like a news release than a strategy.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy and seven GOP House co-sponsors have proposed the Service Restoration Act to reinstate any soldiers fired by the Obiden Regime. The effort is laudable, but even if Republicans retake Congress in November, they will not have enough votes to override the inevitable Obiden veto.
There have also been efforts at litigation. In January, the GOP governors of Alaska and Texas sued the [regime], attempting to block enforcement of the mandate. On June 24, a federal court denied the states’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The states have appealed.
A similar lawsuit by Oklahoma met a similar fate last year. While lawsuits are useful, they are decided by federal judges who are loath to intervene in matters involving the military.
What should the response of red states be? Instead of fruitless appeals to a tone-deaf [regime] or uphill struggles in federal court, Republican governors and state legislatures should stand in the gap and reach into their own pockets to cover lost pay and benefits for the Guard and Reserve. In some states, this can come from so-called “rainy day funds.”
Ricky Shelton, a National Guard captain from Grainger County spearheading the petition, said it well:
We were always taught to take an oath to defend our soldiers. And if their health is being affected and nobody’s stepping up for them, it is my duty to do that.
Shelton told the media:
And I will walk through hell with a can of gasoline in each hand … for my soldiers if I had to.
I respectfully request that you issue an executive order that bans the forced vaccination of enlisted, commissioned, active, or guard men and women … if they have a religious objection, or a conscientious objection to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The threat of penalty that they will lose their status, pay, and/or livelihood is absolutely unreasonable. It does not matter if it fails in the courts. I respectfully request that you make a stand for the military service men and women who live and work in South Carolina.
One local Republican Party official has proposed the best response.
Chris Null, chairman of the Salt Lake County GOP, sent a letter to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox urging him to fight back against the Biden order, even at the cost of federal funding:
Without your intervention, many Utah National Guard members will be discharged for noncompliance.
As the Commander in Chief of the Utah National Guard, you have the responsibility to protect the rights, including the religious rights, of our Utah National Guard service members.
Utah must retain authority over its own National Guard.
Pro-liberty state legislatures should also use their ultimate power of the purse to ensure that the rights of our National Guard troops are protected.
Litigation could be tried but is likely another waste of effort, as courts have generally refused to intervene in military matters.
The [Obiden Regime] has declared war on our troops, and appeals to [Obiden] to reverse course are public relations stunts.
It is time for the elected governors and state legislators to do what is already in their power.
How this would be done is complicated, but they must stand in the gap and cover the costs of pay and benefits for our Guard troops.
Someone needs to interpose to protect them from the [Obiden] assault.
I predict that any state that took that step would have the support of the American people (vaccinated and unvaccinated).
We need less talk and more action.
All we need is one state governor, supported by one state legislature, to get the ball rolling. If one state took the lead, other states would be shamed into joining the resistance.
Let your state officials know you want them to act to protect the Guard and Reserves and, just maybe, they will.
Thank you, Lieutenant General Flynn.
God speed to Conservatism.
