Nearly all Air Force trainees have complied with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but some have been kicked out for refusing without being granted an exemption.
As of Oct. 19, 99% of trainees were fully or partially vaccinated, though the service branch has discharged 23 basic military training trainees, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told the Washington Examiner.
There had been previous reports that the number was roughly 40, but Stefanek told the Washington Examiner that the larger number “included some trainees who had moved into the training pipeline and were in technical training at the time the mandate was announced.”
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Starting on Oct. 10, Air Force trainees had to be briefed by Air Force Recruiting Service recruiters, and they had to also sign a memo stating that they understood the vaccine requirement “upon entry into the service,” Stefanek noted.
“If they refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, their squadron commander will issue a written order that states they must receive the vaccination,” she added. “If they refuse a second time, meaning they have now disobeyed an order twice, they will then be processed for an entry-level separation.”
Any trainee who gets discharged for refusing the vaccine will do so under entry-level separation as long as they’re eligible for the designation, which is that he or she must not have served 180 days as of the release date.
The Air Force’s vaccine mandate for active-duty members is Tuesday, and thousands, though a small percentage of the force, will not be meeting it.
As of Oct. 26, 96.4% of those in the active forces are fully or partially vaccinated, leaving roughly 11,000 unvaccinated. While it’s unclear how many, if any, religious or medical exemptions were granted in the Air Force, the Navy, Army, and Marines confirmed to the Washington Examiner last week that they hadn’t granted any under the former.
Last month, the secretary of public affairs for the Air Force warned in a statement, “Any active-component Airman or Guardian who has refused to obtain a qualifying vaccine by Nov. 2 and has not received, or, is not in the process of seeking, a medical exemption or religious accommodation will be in violation of a lawful order and subject to discipline under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
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Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said, “To those yet to get vaccinated, the order is clear: You have a responsibility to take action now, protect our nation and those we love, or be held accountable for failing to do so.”
Each military branch has come up with its own deadline for active-duty and reserve troops to get the vaccine, and so far, each has an overwhelming majority of its forces vaccinated already.
