The following is an excerpt from The Vaccine Reaction.
U.S. Navy sailors and the Biden administration have reached a settlement in a legal battle that has lasted nearly four years over the Department of Defense (DoD) Covid-19 vaccine mandate.
The settlement provides that sailors who refused to take the Covid shots for religious belief reasons will have their record expunged and will be protected against discrimination for promotions over the next three years.
As part of the settlement, there is a provision related to promotions that prevents the promotion boards from considering “any adverse information related solely to Covid shot refusal in cases in which a religious accommodation was requested.”
The personnel records of all the sailors subject to this lawsuit will be reviewed and any information on consequences for refusing to take the controversial shot will be expunged.
Meanwhile, sailors no longer with the Navy will have their records corrected and a public statement will be issued.
Between Aug. 25, and Sept. 9, 2021, the Biden administration issued federal Covid shot mandates for all members of the U.S. military, federal employees and contractors, and businesses with 100 or more employees to get Covid-19 shots.
Military service personnel were ordered to get Covid shots by Dec. 14, 2021.
While religious exemptions were permitted, the Navy initially failed to approve any of the 3,247 requests for a religious exemption. By January 2023, more than 16,000 members of the military had requested religious exemptions from the Covid shots, many of which were denied.
Some 1,566 sailors were discharged for failing to take the shots and, overall, 7,705 U.S. military personnel were discharged.
Danielle Runyan, attorney for the sailors said:
“Today was a great victory. The judge issued an order on the record approving the settlement of our case. Their records will now be cleared and there is going to be information presented to the promotion board so that no adverse information is considered.“
Within the next year, the Navy will also review the records of all sailors, who were discharged over their refusal to take the controversial shot, and remove any reference to a discharge due to misconduct, which will allow the service members to be eligible for enlistment.
Approximately 4,339 service members, which includes all active service members as of March 2022 who filed a religious exemption to the Covid shots, are included in this settlement.
The Navy is also required to post on their website that the Navy:
supports diverse expressive activities, to include religious expression, and recognizes that through inclusion we are a better military and stronger nation for it. [Religious beliefs are] “a pillar of the Navy’s commitment to treating all sailors with dignity and respect.
The Navy must also advise service members of their rights pertaining to religious accommodations, put together a training presentation for Navy supervisors, and pay the sailors $1.5 million in attorney fees.
Link to complete article here.
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We need a decision rather then refusal on religious purposes but for violations of the Nuremberg Code on involuntary force of use with experimental vaccines.
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No mention that Danielle Runyon is a volunteer attorney for First Liberty. Fabulous organization protecting EVERYONE’S religious freedom. They were the ones who succeeded in the Coach Kennedy case before the SCOTUS. How dare he pray after games! Thank you Kelly Shackelford and your amazing, dedicated band of volunteers lawyers, some of the finest in our country.
Not good enough! Each member discharged should be paid back pay 100% and if they were due for any promotion paid at the promoted rate. It may be difficult to determine if they would have been promoted but if they were even eligible for promotion, they should receive pay at the higher grade. Any member wishing to return to active duty should have a hearing on promotion elgibility and if there is no reason they would not have been promoted, should return to active duty assuming the promoted rank.
If any member would have fulfilled their requirement for retirement they should be given military retirement.
Full disclosure, I was NOT one of these individuals affected by the COVID shot mandate. I served back in the 1980s but did not retire.