I've been wanting to start this new series of topics called "Where I Stand" for a while now, and I think the topic of active duty military members refusing to get the "jab" would be a good place to start.
First and foremost, for those of you who may not know it I am a retired US Air Force Master Sergeant of Security Police. (Yeah, I know it's called "Security Forces" today, but I'm old school.) So when I talk about all things military and military law, you can kinda take for granted that I know what I'm talking about.
So let's start off by taking a look at the Oath of Enlistment that EVERYONE who enlists in the military takes. Please pay attention to the part that says "I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
What that means is simple: as long as the order you've received is LAWFUL, you are REQUIRED to obey it. If you deem the order not to be lawful, there's a process for that - you can refuse the order, but you'd better be right because you're gonna end up before either your commander or a Courts-Martial judge explaining yourself.
As a member of the military forces, you are REQUIRED to be vaccinated against the things that the DoD thinks you need to be vaccinated against. This is to ensure that you can be deployed anywhere in the world and not get sick, thereby negating your combat and mission effectiveness. So when your unit tells you that you have to get a vaccination for whatever, that is a LAWFUL ORDER, and since you took an oath to obey the orders of the officers appointed over you, you MUST obey the order and get the vaccination whether you like it or not. If you refuse, you have violated your oath and committed a crime for which you can - and will - be punished. And rightfully so.
See, folks, it's like this - something that most people don't realize is that when you enlist in the armed forces of the United States (or any other nation for that matter) you give up certain rights and freedoms, one of which is the right to say 'no' to the things that the military says you have to do. As long as the order being given is a LAWFUL order, you have NO option to refuse.
And as I have said, immunizations are LAWFUL.
So any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who refuses to get the COVID 19 vaccination is wrong, is committing a crime, and should be punished. Period.
And I'm speaking as one who did the very same thing when I was a nearly-new airman. When the Air Force was giving the Swine Flu vaccine in the late '70s I refused to take the shot because it was killing people. Two days later I was standing in front of my commanding officer in my dress blues getting ready to explain myself and then take the punishment that I knew I deserved and was most assuredly coming my way. It never occurred to me that I was also gonna end up either getting the shot anyway or getting kicked out, but I can chalk that up to the ignorance and inexperience of youth.
But the punishment never came. My squadron commander informed me that only that morning he had received word from the DoD that they were to cease giving the Swine Flu vaccine to all military members because - wait for it - the vaccine was killing people. My commander chewed my ass for a good ten minutes and then told me to get the hell out of his office and never do anything that stupid again because if I did, my ass was grass and he was gonna be the lawnmower.
I learned my lesson, and yes, I got away with what I had done. But did I deserve to get away with it?
No. I violated my oath and broke the law, and I should have been punished for it.
So having said all that, I must say that the active duty military members who are refusing the COVID 19 vaccination are wrong in just about every sense of the word. YES, I understand how they feel; NO, they don't have the right to refuse; YES, they have to take the shot, and YES, they should be punished for refusing it and then be prepared to get kicked out.
The truth is that they're giving the military no choice. If the military lets them get away with refusing the shot, not only are they willfully compromising the mission and combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces, they're also sending a clear message to the troops that military law doesn't apply to them and they can do whatever they want without fear of prosecution for it.
And there goes the "good order and discipline" of the Armed Forces, and with it the effectiveness of the military.
So there's a hell of a lot more to it than just refusing the jab - a LOT more. Before you start defending these people and praise them as heroes, you should take a second look. The REAL heroes are the ones who are willing to keep their word, obey the orders given, and do what they are ordered to do whether it kills them or not.
THAT is a real hero.
Deo Vindice
IHC
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