Military and DefenseOpinionTrending Commentary

More Than 200 Military Personnel and Veterans Demand Accountability Over COVID-19 Mandates

Dear Rest of AmericaWhile many of us were still in bed, or still at the bar, it was during the early hours that senior U.S. military leaders within the Joint Chiefs of Staff received an email—an open letter addressed to the American people—entitled “Declaration of Military Accountability.”

The letter, reportedly sent by a former Army officer called Brad Miller, demands accountability from the military leaders responsible for enforcing COVID-19 “vaccine” or jab mandates upon troops within the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps in August 2021.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), around 98 percent of active-duty troops were inoculated by December 2021. However, the mandate pushed over 8,400 soldiers out of the military for essentially asserting their bodily autonomy and declining to be injected with a concoction associated with a diverse range of so-called “rare” adverse reactions.

Signed by 231 service members, including those in a high-ranking position, the damning open letter states:

“While implementing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, military leaders broke the law, trampled constitutional rights, denied informed consent, permitted unwilling medical experimentation, and suppressed the free exercise of religion.”

While the COVID-19 jab mandate was formally rescinded in February 2023, such a coercive measure brought significant harm to military personnel and their families, including “suffering” that continues to be “felt financially, emotionally, and physically,” as expressed in the letter.

Several current and retired top leaders in the U.S. military are named and accused of enabling “lawlessness and the unwilling experimentation on service members.” The letter to the American people goes on to state:

“Some service members became part of our ever-growing veteran homeless population, some developed debilitating vaccine injuries, and some even lost their lives.”

It accuses military leaders of an “apparent attempt” to avoid accountability by “continuing to ignore our communications regarding these injuries and the laws that were broken.”

Indeed, both accountability and action are essential to upholding the pillars of this great, exceptional republic. 

Although the decisions of these so-called “leaders” may have resulted from collective pressure beyond the DOD, those decisions were nonetheless formally made under their authority, and the American people must be fully informed and made aware.

With every demand for accountability, there also must be a calculated, focused course of action to defuse or prevent such ill-founded and autocratical measures. It can be argued that the reversal of all COVID-19 policies within the DOD was initiated by several Republican congressmen, who added a requirement to remove the jab mandate in the annual defense budget.

Before the dangerous mandate was terminated, a discussion a month earlier over back pay for service members who were fired after refusing the COVID-19 jab resulted in a fat thumbs down on behalf of The Pentagon.

Moreover, a report by CNN in October 2023 noted that only 43 of over 8,000 involuntarily discharged soldiers sought to rejoin the armed forces eight months after the mandate was formally repealed, based on data obtained by the military branches.

In fact, the relatively small number of service members returning may reflect a much broader recruitment issue. Ashish Vazirani, the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, reportedly said that the military services collectively missed recruiting goals by around 41,000 during the fiscal year 2023. It should be noted that the size of the U.S. military has been on a downward trajectory for several decades, and the Army finished that year with reportedly 452,000 active-duty soldiers, the smallest since 1940.

Following the “National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024,” which was passed by both the House and Senate, and signed into law by President Joe Biden in December last year, the U.S. military in fiscal year 2024 is reportedly projected to be the smallest prior to the start of World War II.

Since enacting the mandate, the Army has faced a worrisome shortage of recruits in the fiscal year 2022 at 45,000 new soldiers, which is 15,000—or 25 percent—short of its annual target. According to a report by AP News around the same time as the CNN piece, the Army has been attempting to reverse enlistment shortfalls by focusing more on young people who have spent time in college or seeking work early in their careers. In the fiscal year 2023, the Army performed relatively better with over 50,000 recruits but still missed its 2023 goal of 65,000.

Christine Wormuth, the secretary of the Army, said that the 65,000 target was a “stretch goal,” and it’s unclear how many new accessions the Army will be able to achieve moving forward.

“I think now the recruiting enterprise in the Army very much understands how important that role is, and they don’t need us to sort of signal to them, put the pedal to the medal,” she told reporters at The Pentagon late last year. “We’re going to keep doing that. We’ve got a lot of work to do to implement all of these changes. So, [for 2024] I would imagine we’ll settle on something lower than 65,000,”

And that “something” is a target of recruiting 10,000 less soldiers.

O-kay.

So while the land service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces focuses on boosting recruitment through incentives, including promotions and cash bonuses such as “immediate promotion to staff sergeant” and a “one-time lump sum of $5,000” under the condition of military education prerequisites, the U.S. military might want to reconsider requiring so-called “vaccines” linked with a baggage of reported adverse reactions. Sound like common sense?

For those old enough to remember adulthood 20 or more years ago, can we ever recall a time when over 200 active military personnel signed their name to an open letter demanding accountability of the U.S. military’s uniformed leadership?

As a gesture of support, patriots who empathize with its core subject can throw their weight behind the signatories by contacting and sharing the document with their local, and state representatives, or share it as far and wide with like-minded—or open-minded enough—patriotic citizens.

Awareness precedes action: before change can occur within or through any branch of government, a large enough and well-informed assembly of Americans could fuel activists with consistent motivation as they demand responsibility for ill-founded and disappointing governance decisions.

Indeed, the signatories of the letter make a bold statement:

“In the coming years, thousands within our network will run for Congress and seek appointments to executive branch offices, while those of us still serving on active duty will continue to put fulfilling our oaths ahead of striving for rank or position. … For those of us who attain legislative offices, we pledge to introduce legislation to remove all retirement income for the military leaders who were criminally complicit, and we will ensure none serve in or retire from the Senior Executive Service.”

And on that note, let those of us who care about the pillar of liberty—governmental power limitations and individual freedoms—and the good health of our exceptional armed forces, stand shoulder to shoulder with like-minded military personnel and protect each other from what may come next.

In closing, the proactive military members deliver another bold promise:

“We will fight to enforce that law and put an end to the two-tiered justice system. May future generations see our efforts and, God willing, may they also be recipients of the great gift of liberty that we have had the honor of safeguarding.”

Amen to that.

Content syndicated from Dear Rest of America with permission

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Dear Rest Of America

Dear Rest Of America is a newsletter written by Cameron Keegan, who independently researches and writes about American politics, faith and culture affecting young people through a conservative disposition. To learn more, visit Dear Rest Of America and for questions, send an email to ckeeganan@substack.com

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One Comment

  1. I’ve been repeatedly shadow-banned by Facebook regarding many subjects, not the least of which is the issue of COVID policies; vaccine mandates, face mask mandates, social distancing mandates, lockdowns, and selective business & school closures. The Brownstone Institute has done a magnificent job of reporting on the abuses of power, outright lies, and weaponization of medical providers and resources. I’ve tried to keep my head down a bit by not vociferously and ubiquitously posting things that will be censored & simply make me the target of this unlawful & unjust administration. That being said, the time has certainly come for all of us patriots to coalesce our thoughts and actions in protesting the huge injustices imposed on those who value their freedom & liberty. Many have stood their ground for such principles and paid an enormous price (some still languishing in fetid conditions incarcerated without bail or access to legal recourse). For those who were discharged for failing to get ‘vaccinated’ against COVID, we owe them more than can be adequately remunerated & I don’t find it abnormal that so few would seek reinstatement into such a corrupt systems that we have seen demonstrated. It’s time for patriots to band together and demand redress & accountability from our ‘leaders.’

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