The U.S. Army announced on July 21 that it has approved just 20 permanent religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine after having received 8,000 requests so far.
Out of the 8,000 applications for a permanent religious exemption, a total of 1,465 have been reviewed by the Army. Just 20 have been approved—equivalent to an approval rate of about 1.37 percent.
All 20 who had their applications approved were in the active Army. None from the Army National Guard or Army Reserve have been able to obtain an approved permanent religious exemption.
This leaves 6,535 applications for a permanent religious exemption yet to be reviewed by the service.
Meanwhile, the Army has reviewed 1,045 permanent medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine, out of 1,100 requests. It has approved just 34 requests, which is an approval rate of about 3.25 percent.
“Army officials review each request on an individual basis to determine whether an exemption is appropriate,” the Army stated in its announcement. “Medical requests are reviewed primarily by healthcare providers, while religious accommodation requests include interviews with the Soldier’s chaplain, recommendations from the chain of command, as well as a public health and a legal review.”
It adds: “All Soldiers who refuse the order to be vaccinated without an approved or pending exemption request are subject to certain adverse administrative actions, including flags, bars to continued service, and official reprimands.
“Soldiers who continue to refuse the vaccination order without an approved or pending exemption may also be subject to additional adverse administrative action, including separation.”
According to the Army’s statistics, those who are fully vaccinated comprise 96 percent of the active Army, 88 percent of the Army National Guard, and 90 percent of the Army Reserve.
Over 17,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Refusals
More than 17,000 troops in the Army have refused to take a vaccine against COVID-19, data indicated. Most of the refusals come from the Army National Guard, where over 10,700 soldiers have refused to be vaccinated.
No troops in the Army National Guard or Army Reserve have been separated from the force. But out of 1,425 active Army members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine, 1,379 have been separated.
Since July 1, under orders of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, members of the Army National Guard or Army Reserve who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine and don’t have a valid exemption “may not participate in federally funded drills, training, and other duty nor receive payment or retirement credit,” the Army said.
While the Army’s vaccine mandate continues to be in force, the U.S. Air Force has been temporarily blocked from enforcing its vaccine mandate after a federal district court in Ohio issued a temporary restraining order in mid-July. The order prevents Air Force authorities from disciplining any service members who are unvaccinated after having their religious exemption applications denied. Plaintiffs in the case had contended that the class action suit would include over 12,000 airmen.
According to data from the Air Force, as of July 11, over 6,800 service members have been denied religious accommodation requests. Only 104 have had their applications approved. Meanwhile, 834 members have been “administratively separated” by the force.
Army Facing Personnel Shortfalls
The figures showing a low rate of permanent COVID-19 vaccine exemptions approval from the Army comes amid predictions that the service will have significantly fewer troops than what it originally planned to have by the end of fiscal 2023.
Army Gen. Joseph Martin, vice chief of staff for the Army, told a House military personnel panel on July 19 that the projection for the estimated total number of troops in the force by the end of the 2022 fiscal year, Sept. 30, is 466,400—a drop of 6,600 from the original target end strength of 473,000.
He also said that the estimated total number of troops for the end of 2023 fiscal year is 445,000 to 452,000, which is a drop of 24,000 to 31,000 troops from the original target of 476,000.
Martin said: “Right now, what we’re experiencing—the ‘why’ of what we think is going on right now—is we’ve got unprecedented challenges with both a post-COVID-19 environment and labor market, but also private competition with private companies that have changed their incentives over time.”
He said the Army can manage to handle shortfalls in Army troop sizes in the short term, but that if this persists, it could have an impact on readiness.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), a member of the House Judiciary and Armed Services Committees, took to Twitter on July 19 to advocate for the end of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the military, noting the drastic projected reductions in strength in the Army.
“Army Reserve and Army National Guard reductions will be even worse. We must depoliticize the military and end the vaccine mandate,” he said on Twitter.
Johnson in late June accused the Biden administration of having destroyed the Army’s readiness “by creating an unnecessary recruiting and retention shortfall, and trying to make up the difference by lowering other crucial education and fitness standards.”
From The Epoch Times
