A military base in Alabama is requiring unmasked service members to carry proof of their vaccination.
Major Gen. David Francis, commander of Fort Rucker, issued a general order on Tuesday empowering commanding officers to ask unmasked persons to be prepared to show a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card or related medical document in accordance with a Department of Defense guidance issued on June 22.
Current regulations require all unvaccinated service members to wear masks on and off post, a requirement from which vaccinated personnel are exempt. Unvaccinated service members may only take them off for brief periods when eating or drinking, when alone in an office, when facial identification is required, or to accommodate a disability.
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Family members of service members and contractors must also abide by the order. However, the memo stipulates superiors may only ask to see proof of vaccination of unmasked non-service members if there is reasonable suspicion. Violators will be barred from the military base.
The order claims the new stringent measures are necessary to help stop the spread of COVID-19, stipulating, “Due to the spread of COVID-19 and associated health risk, aggressive prevention and mitigation measures are necessary to continue to reduce the transmission of the disease. Continued adherence to restrictions on certain activities are essential to preserving the health of Soldiers, Civilians, and Family Members and the overall Fort Rucker mission.”
The order stresses vaccination is still a personal choice for all service members.
Despite some media reports, Fort Rucker is not the first military installation to empower superiors to ask unmasked service members to be prepared to provide proof of vaccination at all times.
Major Gen. Charles Costanza, commander of Fort Steward in Georgia, issued General Order Number 1 on July 1, requiring all unmasked service members to carry proof of vaccination and empowering commanders to ask unmasked service members to provide this documentation at any time.
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But even Fort Stewart might not have been the first military installation to implement this requirement, either. The Department of Defense has hundreds of installations, many of which do not have publicly accessible records, according to the Army Times.
