‘While implementing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, military leaders broke the law, trampled constitutional rights, denied informed consent, permitted unwilling medical experimentation, and suppressed the free exercise of religion.’
Over 200 active duty service members, veterans, and others on January 1 released an open letter demanding accountability from the U.S. military leaders who imposed COVID-19 jab mandates upon members of the armed services, calling out the Department of Defense for “failing to fulfill the moral obligations upon which [it was] founded” in its implementation of the requirements.
On January 1, the current and former servicemen and women representing all branches of the United States military signed an open letter promising to pursue accountability for military leaders who they say broke the law in their enforcement of COVID-19 jab rules.
They added that members of the armed forces and their families had been “significantly harmed by these actions” and that they continue to suffer “financially, emotionally, and physically.”
“In an apparent attempt to avoid accountability, military leaders are continuing to ignore our communications regarding these injuries and the laws that were broken,” the military members said.
The letter called out a slew of leaders – including General Mark Milley – by name, arguing that they “enabled lawlessness and the unwilling experimentation on service members.”
“They betrayed the trust of service members and the American people,” the writers allege. “Their actions caused irreparable harm to the Armed Forces and the institutions for which we have fought and bled.”
The military members say they “have exhausted all internal efforts to rectify recent criminal activity within the Armed Forces” and now seek to “pursue restoration through accountability.”
U.S. Navy Commander Rob Green said in an email to LifeSiteNews that the “signers of this letter are standing up to say, ‘no more’ to leaders who willfully inflict harm on those they lead.”
“While we will be the first to support leaders who fully acknowledge the harms done and attempt to restore everyone impacted, we have not received any evidence such actions are planned,” Green said. “Absent such radical changes, we commit to bringing about the accountability required to win back the American people’s trust, however long that takes.”
The open letter comes after the Army did away with “all policies associated with the DOD COVID-19 vaccination mandate” in February following the December 2022 rollback of the military jab mandate. That reversal was sparked by Republican congressmen, who added a provision to the annual defense budget requiring the removal of the jab rule.
Discussion in January concerning whether the military would provide back pay to fired soldiers ended with the Pentagon stating that it would not do so.
But the mandate didn’t end before thousands of service members were booted from the military for rejecting the shots. Likely, many of those who refused the jabs will not return.
Military news site Task & Purpose cited an October report by CNN that noted just 43 of the more than 8,000 service members from all branches who had been involuntarily discharged over their jab refusal had indicated an interest in re-entering the armed forces. Moreover, the outlet noted that only 19 soldiers who had been kicked out for failing to get jabbed had returned as of September.
The lack of interest in rejoining the service could be an issue for the Army – and the military writ large – as the U.S. armed forces suffer through an ongoing inability to hit recruitment goals.
Signatories who communicated with LifeSiteNews via email expressed concern about the impact of the military’s loss of many religious people and others of conscience.
“One of the main impacts is a high concentration of yes-men/women within command authority/leadership positions, willing to do anything to please their bosses and their ‘careers,’ while willfully ignoring what is lawful, legal, moral, and ethical,” said former Army public health officer Mark Bashaw. Bashaw told LifeSite he had been court-martialed and had his promotion to captain revoked, among other forms of punishment for bucking the mandate.
Lt. Col. Carolyn Rocco, an active duty investigator for the U.S. Air Force, shared a similar concern about “the danger of having a force full of ‘yes men’” who “always agree with their supervisor or commander and never provide feedback or criticism if they disagree with the guidance given.”
“The religious and conscientious service members who saw the legal, medical, moral, religious, and ethical problems surrounding the vax mandate were the ones who spoke up,” Rocco said. “By removing them from service, what is left is a population who will likely continue to ‘go along to get along,’ and that can result in a weakened national defense, which directly impacts everyone, not just those affiliated to the military.”
Meanwhile, the signatories warn that the ripple effects of the mandates could go far beyond recruitment woes.
The signers said that the “coming years” will see “thousands within our network” opting to “run for Congress and seek appointments to executive branch offices, while those of us still serving on active duty will continue to put fulfilling our oaths ahead of striving for rank or position.”
Those with the power to do so, the signatories said, will actively seek justice for leaders who violated the law in their implementation of the jab mandates by pursuing military punishments or legislative resolutions.
In closing, the military members vowed to “fight to enforce that law and end the two-tiered justice system.”“May future generations see our efforts and, God willing, may they also be recipients of the great gift of liberty that we have had the honor of safeguarding,” the letter reads.
“This letter, while focused on the DoD, is a message to every American,” Rocco emailed LifeSite. “We see you. We hear you. There is no going back to how things used to be. Now is the time to act if we [have] any desire to save this country.”[1]
Released by the Stand Up America US Foundation
Contact for Interview: lauraperrymt@protonmail.com:
www.standupamericaus.org
[1] Lifesite News, Ashley Sadler, 1.1.2023
The views expressed in CCNS member articles are not necessarily the views or positions of the entire CCNS. They are the views of the authors, who are members of the CCNS.
