A Marine who applied for but was denied a religious exemption to the COVID vaccine is sounding the alarm on how such vaccine mandates can impact the U.S.' defense systems. He cautioned that the Biden administration's COVID vaccine mandate has forced many skilled men and women out of the force.
Lt. Col. Scott Duncan told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday night that people like him who have requested for a religious exemption to the COVID vaccine mandate have a "reasonable argument," Fox News reported. According to the report, the U.S. military is about to dismiss Duncan and many other trained fighter pilots for refusing the COVID vaccine.
Since the Department of Defense's COVID vaccine mandate went into effect on November 28, many active-duty service members who were denied a religious exemption have been discharged from the military. Duncan is a seasoned pilot, having flown over 300 combat missions, including 200 carrier landings for the Marine Corps.
'I am not unique in my situation," Duncan admitted. "There are many incredibly qualified individuals with a tremendous amount of experience, and we believe that that can be a detriment to national defense in the event we separate that many aviators."
Over 200 Marines have been forced to leave their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID. Duncan said that he and many of his peers in the Marines "do disagree with the pedigree and the technology maturation over time."
However, he said that it was just half of the issue. The other half is the "conviction by the Holy Spirit." He explained that they "do not have any peace about the vaccine itself" and that they believe in their "inherent right" to their own bodies, which is "conferred with us from the maker and creator and that is the foundation of the Constitution which we defend."
Several other Marines who had their religious exemptions denied claim that they were a victim of "blanket" denial of appeals, in which authorities did not consider their applications before rejecting them. Eight requests showed nearly identical rejections, which cited "military readiness" as the primary reason why they were disallowed the appeal. Only two religious exemptions have been approved by the U.S. military to date.
According to WND, Duncan and other Marines hope that the Department of Defense leadership would consider the "cost-benefit analysis of losing several hundred very qualified aviators" in the face of increased international tensions. He added that the hundred qualified aviators have an average of 14 years of experience.
Duncan underscored how he and his fellow Marines who are seeking religious exemptions "absolutely believe everything" that they have done "in honorable service" and argued that their campaign now is "consistent with those views," which are unfortunately "not shared by some leadership within the Department of Defense."
According to The Hill, as of the end of December 2021, more than 200 Marines have been taken off their jobs for refusing the COVID vaccine. Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Andrew Wood confirmed in an email that 206 Marines have been removed after refusing the vaccine mandate.
A COVID vaccine mandate was announced by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin but it was up to each service to implement their own deadlines. For Marines, the deadline was November 28. 94% of active duty Marines are fully vaccinated.
