Military

Pentagon Recommends Boosters Across All US Forces

Stars & Stripes reports: The Department of Defense recommended COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all eligible civilian employees and service members on Tuesday as the U.S. hit a record number of new coronavirus cases. The DOD urged anyone over age 18 and already vaccinated to get the booster as a means of mitigating the surge in coronavirus cases associated with …

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Air Force Denies Requests For Religious Vax Exemptions

The Hill reports: The Air Force has denied 2,130 requests for religious accommodations to the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and has not approved any, the service announced today. Air Force and Space Force commands received more than 10,000 requests from airmen and guardians across the active-duty, National Guard and Reserve hoping to avoid the coronavirus shot. More than 8,630 individuals …

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REPORT: Army To Unveil Broadly Effective COVID Vax

Defense One reports: Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce that they have developed a vaccine that is effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, even Omicron, as well as from previous SARS-origin viruses that have killed millions of people worldwide. The achievement is the result of almost two years of work on …

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New Pentagon Policies Aim To Root Out Extremists

The Associated Press reports: Warning that extremism in the ranks is increasing, Pentagon officials issued detailed new rules Monday prohibiting service members from actively engaging in extremist activities. The new guidelines come nearly a year after some current and former service members participated in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, triggering a broad department review. The new policy lays out …

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Pentagon Has Given Zero Religious Vax Exemptions

The Associated Press reports: More than 12,000 military service members refusing the COVID-19 vaccine are seeking religious exemptions, and so far they are having zero success. That total lack of approvals is creating new tensions within the military, even as the vast majority of the armed forces have gotten vaccinated. The services, urgently trying to keep the coronavirus pandemic in …

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US Army: 98% Of Troops Got Vaxxed Before Deadline

PBS NewsHour reports: Army officials said Thursday that 98% of their active duty force had gotten at least one dose of the mandatory coronavirus vaccine as of this week’s deadline for the shots but that more than 3,800 soldiers flatly refused and could start being removed from the military next month. The U.S. military’s largest service, however, reported the lowest …

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US Navy To Start Discharging Sailors For Refusing Vax

Defense One reports: The Navy will start processing unvaccinated active-duty sailors for separation under a new policy guidance released Wednesday. Thousands of sailors risk ending their career’s early and repaying bonuses and education fees for failing to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of November. “We want every sailor to receive the vaccine and stay Navy. And …

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Air Force Begins Discharging COVID Vaccine Refusers

The Associated Press reports: The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an …

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Army: 97% Of Troops Have Complied With Mandate

The Washington Post reports: The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel declining to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by their prescribed deadlines is as high as 40,000, with new Army data showing that, days ahead of its cutoff, 3 percent of soldiers either have rejected President Biden’s mandate or sought a long-shot exemption. Military leaders have few options to address …

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US Navy Commander Fired For Defying Vax Mandate

Stars & Stripes reports: Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill, a destroyer, by Navy Capt. Ken Anderson, commander of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal. A spokesman for the Naval Surface Force …

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House Approves $768 Billion Defense Spending Bill

CBS News reports: The House on Monday night approved the 2022 annual defense bill, which authorizes programs and spending guidelines for the Pentagon and other national security programs, includes changes to military prosecutions, more money for Ukraine and a pay raise for service members. The bill had bipartisan support, garnering 363 votes. Fifty-one Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against it. …

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Esper Sues Pentagon For Blocking Parts Of Memoir

The New York Times reports: Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Sunday sued the agency he once led, accusing officials at the Pentagon of improperly blocking significant portions of an upcoming memoir about his tumultuous tenure under President Donald J. Trump. The allegations by Mr. Esper, whom Mr. Trump fired shortly after losing his re-election bid last November, are …

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Pentagon Forms Task Force To Investigate UFO Reports

From the Department of Defense: Today, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in close collaboration with the Director of National Intelligence, directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security to establish within the Office of the USD(I&S) the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) as the successor to the U.S. Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. …

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US Navy Launches Ship Named For Harvey Milk [Video]

San Diego’s Fox News affiliate reports: The Navy christened its latest ship Saturday, a replenishment oiler named after slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk, during a ceremony in San Diego. The USNS Harvey Milk is the second ship in the Navy’s John Lewis class of fleet replenishment oilers, which will serve to refuel Navy ships at sea. The John Lewis-class …

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97% Of US Military Have Had At Least One Vax Dose

The New York Times reports: Two months after the Pentagon began requiring all troops to get the coronavirus vaccine or face dismissal, the vast majority have now had shots, in part because none received a religious exemption, military officials said. While vaccine exemptions are often broadly worded, requests based on religious beliefs are coming under close scrutiny in the military …

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Pentagon To Try To Convince Military Vaccine Holdouts

Roll Call reports: Facing criticism that mandates for coronavirus vaccinations could force the Defense Department to fire thousands of civilians, contractors and troops, the Biden administration is signaling that vaccine resisters may get more time to comply. Three administration officials in the last couple of days have described the deadlines not as the dates when an axe will fall but …

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US Army Ejects “Hitler Mustache” Capitol Riot Suspect

The Washington Post reports: An Army reservist charged in the Justice Department’s sweeping investigation of the U.S. Capitol riot was quietly demoted and discharged earlier this year, becoming the first known service member to be forced out of the military after officials learned of an alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to personnel records reviewed by The Washington …

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US Navy Issues Guidelines For Booting Vaccine Refusers

Via press release from the US Naval Command: Sailors must be prepared to execute their mission at all times, in places throughout the world, including where vaccination rates are low and disease transmission is high. Immunizations are of paramount importance to protecting the health of the force and the warfighting readiness of the Fleet. “To date, over 98 percent of …

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Armed Robot Dogs Debut At US Army Event [VIDEO]

The Drive reports: Ghost Robotics and SWORD International have teamed up to create a rifle-toting “robot dog.” Called the Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle, or SPUR, the system adds a 6.5mm Creedmoor rifle from SWORD to one of Ghost Robotics’ quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles, or Q-UGVs. The SPUR made its debut on the show floor at the Association of the U.S. …

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US Military Archbishop: Catholic Troops Can Refuse Vax

From the military blog Defense One: Catholic U.S. troops should be allowed to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine based solely on conscientious objection and regardless of whether abortion-related tissue was used in its creation or testing, the archbishop for the military declared in a new statement supporting service members who are seeking religious exemptions. “No one should be forced to receive …

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