U.S. Army soldiers who have refused to get their dose of COVID-19 vaccine will soon be discharged, the military branch announced on Wednesday February 2.
According to the Army, it will “immediately begin separating Soldiers from the service” who refuse to be vaccinated or who don’t have an approved or pending request for exemption.
The Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said, “Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,”
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“Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness.”
Discharged Soldiers “will not be eligible for involuntary separation pay”
He also added that they may have to return any unearned special or incentive pay.
As of Jan. 26, it said, 96% of active troops have been completely vaccinated, while 3,350 soldiers have refused to get the vaccine. Nearly 5,900 have received temporary exemptions.
Those who have asked for a medical exemption or religious accommodations are temporarily exempt from the vaccination requirement while their requests are being reviewed.
“To date, Army commanders have relieved a total of six Regular Army leaders, including two battalion commanders, and issued 3,073 general officer written reprimands to Soldiers for refusing the vaccination order,” the Army said late last month.
The Pentagon began requiring members of the military to get vaccinated last summer.
