They bravely served, but the US Senate let them down
Christopher Tremoglie
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Being a female in the military is undoubtedly difficult. It’s even tougher when someone tries to start a family while honoring her commitment to protecting the country.
But should these risks include endangering the lives of her future children? That is the plight in which Air Force Officer Jordan Karr found herself after the government imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the military in 2021. It was a choice that would ultimately cost Karr her job.
BIDEN TO SIGN NDAA ENDING MILITARY’S COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE THIS WEEK
Last week when the U.S. Senate voted to approve the National Defense Authorization Act, they also voted on an amendment that would have reinstated members of the military who refused to get the vaccine – members like Karr. It was an initiative led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Johnson (R-WI). Their amendment would have “reinstated troops discharged for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, provided them back pay and service time, and prevented the Pentagon from reinstating the vaccine mandate without congressional authorization.” It needed 60 votes to be adopted; it failed 40-54.
It was a disgraceful rejection that showed a startling lack of respect for those who voluntarily risked their lives to defend this country. Just as the military uses available information to make decisions that are in our nation’s best interest, so did officers like Karr. And given that the vaccine did not prevent the spread of the coronavirus (despite ample disinformation from the Biden administration to the contrary), the concerns of Karr and others in the military who lost their jobs were at least partially vindicated.
Karr’s reaction was nothing extreme. Given the lack of available information about the relationship between the vaccine and fertility side effects, she did what a lot of mothers-to-be would do: she said no. Karr is just one of many of our country’s service members whose life was ruined because she was nervous about taking an experimental vaccine. And instead of understanding her genuine concerns and correcting this obvious wrong, U.S. Senators abandoned her.
Consider just some of the stories of our country’s service members who lost their livelihoods because of the vaccine mandates.
Lt. Col. Scott Duncan was a renowned fighter pilot and active-duty U.S. Marine stationed in Arizona. Duncan applied for an exception to the vaccine because of his religious views but was denied. He has over 2,860 flight hours, 300 hours of combat missions, and many other achievements and decorations during his 19-year career. Duncan was supposed to lead an F-35B squadron. He lost this role — a role in which the country may need him soon — because he refused to succumb to government pressure to go against his religious beliefs. He was only a few months away from retirement.
Aaron Reed was a U.S. Navy SEAL, forced to retire after 22 years of service because he refused the vaccine due to his religion and other reasons. Reed was planning on serving until he reached 30 years of service. He aspired to become a master chief. This dream was shattered because of the vaccine mandate.
Commander Jay Furman was a Navy pilot who bravely served for over 22 years until the mandate grounded him. Furman filed a whistleblower report in November 2021, claiming the vaccine mandate was illegal and violated current U.S. military policy.
The expulsion of officers and service members such as Karr, Duncan, Reed, and Furman is a monumental waste of talent and resources. It raises the question of which is more important to the Senate — totalitarian compliance to orders by service members, or fielding a military with the most qualified and dedicated individuals?
And destroying their lives wasn’t fiscally responsible either. At a time when inflation has hit record-breaking levels, removing them from their jobs costs taxpayers millions of dollars.
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For example, a conservative estimate of the economic impact of Lt. Col. Duncan’s job loss is approximately $35 million. This figure includes 700 hours of flying F-35s at $16,000 per hour, 1500 hours piloting F-18s at $11,000 per hour, and 400 hours in F-16s at $15,000 per hour. To not reinstate these fine service members is an egregious act of bureaucratic elitism.
Our country’s legislators let our brave service members down. They wanted to hold them to different standards than they held themselves — the legislative branch never had a vaccine mandate. The failure to right this wrong is a grave sin, and those 54 senators who refused to act should be ashamed of themselves. Jordan Karr’s hesitations were understandable. She should be reinstated, and so should all of those in the military who lost their jobs because of the vaccine mandate.