The U.S. Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to submit to President Biden's COVID mandate, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for standing up against the president's edict. An Air Force spokesman says none of the 27 airmen sought a medical, administrative, or religious exemption – they simply didn't want to take the jab.
Gordon Klingenschmitt is a former Air Force Missile officer who graduated from the Air Force Academy. He contends there's a crisis of conscience.
"[After] you purge all of the Christians from the military – or all the people who have a conscience – what kind of military are you going to have?" he asks – then answers: "One where people are willing to compromise and nobody has a sense of honor. I don't think this is sustainable long-term."
And Klingenschmitt is outraged that the Pentagon is refusing to pay members of the National Guard who won't submit. "Those people have been ordered now to stop showing up for drill, and they're being denied payment unless they have the vaccine," he exclaims. "Withholding pay unless you get the vaccine is another unconstitutional overreach by the Biden administration."
As to the report that 75% of Florida National Guardsmen are reportedly unvaccinated, Klingenschmitt wonders: "What are they going to do? Fire 75% of the Florida National Guard? They can't do that. It's unsustainable. It hurts readiness."
According to the latest Air Force data, more than 1,000 airmen have refused the shot … and more than 4,700 are seeking a religious exemption. In an earlier interview with AFN, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver predicted the Pentagon will ultimately run into a "buzz saw" in federal court by continuing to deny religious exemptions.
No jab, no test … sir
On a related issue, a Naval commander has been relieved of his job because he refuses to take the COVID injection or be tested for the virus.
Navy Commander Lucian Kins was recently fired from his job as the executive officer of the destroyer USS Winston Churchill because of his refusals. The Navy has confirmed that Kins has requested a religious exemption, which was denied. Kins is appealing that denial.
"I am appalled that the United States Navy would not even consider this officer's request for a religious exemption to the mandate," says Klingenschmitt, also served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. "We're all fighting COVID; we're all on the same team here – and yet our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines deserve the same constitutional freedoms that they fight and sometimes die for on foreign battlefields to give to others."
Klingenschmitt argues that even the testing should be consensual.
"Everyone talks about personal privacy or freedom from bodily harassment. How is violating someone's body by command order a lawful order?" he wonders. "It cannot be a lawful order. Maybe [Kins] should have requested a medical exemption, but he certainly should be granted a religious exemption. [Instead] his constitutional rights are now being trampled."
Section on Navy CMDR Kins added after story was originally posted.
