Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to say whether he objects to the dishonorable discharge of military service members who refuse COVID-19 vaccination.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama posed the question during an Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, in which the top military official was grilled alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, U.S. commander of Central Command, about the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, among other things.
“We have a [military code] that really addresses all of the issues in the military and gives our leadership what they need to be able to enforce standards,” Austin said when asked about the consequence of forgoing vaccination.
“Taking the vaccine is a requirement, and again, I’ll just leave it at that,” he concluded.
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President Joe Biden urged the Pentagon in July to develop plans to require coronavirus vaccinations among service members.
“Our men and women in uniform who protect this country from grave threats should be protected as much as possible from getting COVID-19. I think this is particularly important because our troops serve in places throughout the world, many where vaccination rates are low and disease is prevalent,” Biden said.
Service members are already required to receive 17 vaccines as a condition of service, although they may be exempt for medical or religious reasons.
Upon full approval of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the first among several approved for emergency use in December, the Defense Department announced it would move forward with plans to enforce a mandate. Although Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at the time that leadership’s expectation was compliance, he noted last month “nobody is looking for strong punitive disciplinary measures.”
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Charlie Dietz, another Pentagon spokesman, said Monday the Defense Department is “not aware of any discharges at this time” related to the vaccine.
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas and several of his GOP colleagues, including Tuberville, sponsored a bill last week to ban the dishonorable discharge of unvaccinated service members.
