Press Releases

WASHINGTON, September 16, 2022 — On Thursday, Rep. Mike Johnson (La-04), Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and 48 of their colleagues demanded the Army immediately stop unfairly restricting unvaccinated soldiers from official travel and denying them vital career opportunities.

"This new directive will unfairly deny soldiers – who simply followed the tenets of their deeply held religious beliefs or guidance of their doctor – vital career opportunities, effectively relegating them as second-class soldiers," the Members’ letter to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth reads.

The Army’s official travel policy bars all unvaccinated soldiers – including those with approved medical or religious COVID-19 vaccine exemptions – from completing official travel unless approved by the Under Secretary of the Army. This level of approval is extremely difficult and burdensome for soldiers to obtain.

Rep. Johnson and his colleagues warned the Army against further damaging its recruiting efforts and military readiness by continuing their “political maneuvering.”

"If the Army continues to refuse to recognize the strength of natural immunity, while enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and applying these shockingly aggressive measures targeting unvaccinated soldiers, we risk damaging our country’s military readiness for years to come,” they concluded.

Rep. Johnson said:

“Army policy currently requires all soldiers who have not taken a COVID vaccine—including those with permanent religious or medical exemptions—to seek approval from an Army Undersecretary before they are allowed to perform official travel, move, or change jobs. As long as this policy is in effect, they are effectively second-class soldiers. If you’re wondering why the Army is failing so miserably at recruitment and retention, look no further. This policy should be rescinded immediately.”

Rep. Roy said:

"It's intolerable that the Army is punishing all unvaccinated soldiers — even those granted medical or religious waivers— by cutting them off from vital career advancement opportunities. The Biden Administration has shown what their tyrannical policy is really about: a deliberate, ideological purge of patriotic servicemembers who dare abide by their conscience and religious beliefs. To be frank, it is because of irrational policies like this that the Army is catastrophically failing to meet recruiting goals. Tyrannical, anti-American policies like this only make our enemies laugh and applaud."

Sen. Lee said:

“We cannot continue down this misguided path of state-sponsored discrimination against soldiers who decline to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including those granted religious exemptions. These men and women serve our country honorably, often risking their lives to protect us at home and abroad. The current policy threatens our military preparedness and jeopardizes the career opportunities of deserving service members. We need to do better for these American patriots.”

Full text of the letter can be found below and at the link here.

Dear Secretary Wormuth, 

We request that you immediately rescind the Army policy that prohibits unvaccinated soldiers, including those with approved medical or religious COVID-19 vaccine exemptions, from completing official travel, including Temporary Duty (TDY), Permanent Change of Station (PCS), no cost PCS, low-cost PCS, and intra-post transfers, without approval from the Under Secretary of the Army (USA).

COVID-19 vaccine mandates are dangerous and wrong enough, but treating unvaccinated soldiers differently than vaccinated soldiers – even after receiving an exemption – is unfounded and puts our military readiness at risk. This new directive will unfairly deny soldiers – who simply followed the tenets of their deeply held religious beliefs or guidance of their doctor – vital career opportunities, effectively relegating them as second-class soldiers. Additionally, this policy punishes the thousands of other soldiers with pending exemptions requests which they are rightfully allowed to seek. 

Putting aside the issue of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate itself – especially after the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) updated guidance removed the distinction between unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals exposed to COVID-19, and that the COVID-19 vaccine does not prevent transmission or contraction of COVID-19 – once the Army grants a permanent religious or medical exemption, there is no basis to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated soldiers differently. This political maneuvering will have impacts on our country’s military readiness and the trust and morale of our premier fighting force.

Policies like these can contribute to significant recruiting difficulty, compounding the Army’s struggle to meet recruiting objectives for FY22. If the Army continues to refuse to recognize the strength of natural immunity, while enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and applying these shockingly aggressive measures targeting unvaccinated soldiers, we risk damaging our country’s military readiness for years to come. 

We request that you immediately remove this unfair burden from unvaccinated soldiers and reverse this harmful guidance. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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