Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rejected a request from the governor of Oklahoma to exempt his state’s National Guard from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all military personnel.
In addition to rejecting Gov. Kevin Stitt’s request, Austin wrote in a memo on Tuesday that Guardsmen who refuse the vaccine without an exemption will eventually lose pay.
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“The concerns raised in your letter do not negate the need for this important military readiness requirement,” the secretary wrote to Stitt on Monday, saying the decision to deny the request “stems directly from my responsibility as the Secretary of Defense to promote the health, safety, and readiness of our military personnel,” according to CNN.
At the heart of the dispute is who is ultimately in charge of a state’s National Guard regardless of whether they’re deployed.
“With all due respect to [Pentagon spokesperson John] Kirby, I think perhaps he has received incorrect information,” Charlie Hannema, a spokesman for the governor, told Military.com.
Roughly 40% of the state’s 6,200 Army Guardsmen are fully vaccinated, and their deadline is in June of next year. Nearly 90% of the 2,000 members of the Air National Guard have been vaccinated ahead of their deadline later this week.
“No Department of Defense funding may be allocated for payment of duties performed under title 32 for members of the National Guard who do not comply with Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccination requirements,” Austin wrote in a memo to the secretaries of the military services on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Kirby has repeatedly pointed to Title 32 status as the doctrine that permits enforcement on Guard members even if they’re under the governor’s authority.
“The secretary of defense has the authority to order these vaccines for all members of the force, including the National Guard,” Kirby said earlier this month. “Because when they are called up for their monthly training, they are still federally funded, so he still has those authorities.”
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Stitt’s office told the outlet a handful of other states are considering similar requests, though none have been made.
