Shortly after I wrote a column for Must Read Alaska that discussed the relationship between Covid, vaccinations, and myocarditis, I had a disturbing phone call from a friend whose son is in the military.
Her son is an extremely active young man and body builder who recently contracted myocarditis and pericarditis. It was puzzling to her because there was no family history of these diseases. Her son was only 30.
He was mandated to take the vaccine and he got the first two jabs. He also contracted Covid four times after receiving the two Moderna shots.
When this young man went to the cardiologist, he asked if the vaccine or Covid had anything to do with his heart problem. He was told “no, neither the jabs nor the Covid virus caused his heart problems.”
This is hard to believe because the CDC states these illnesses can result from Covid.
Both myocarditis and pericarditis are also in the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) as possible complications from the “vaccines”.
The recent law passed by Congress told the Department of Defense it could no longer mandate the jab. DOD continues to push the jab for all, but released a Jan. 10, 2023 memo stating service members will no longer be separated just because they wouldn’t take the jab.
That’s good news; or does it sound too good to be true?
When reading the fine print, there is a significant caveat written by the military leaders, who evidently don’t want to give up this fight.
The memo goes on to state, “commanders may consider a service member’s vaccination status in making deployment, assignment, and other operational decisions, including when vaccination is required for travel to, or entry into, a foreign nation.”
Read about the uphill battle for unvaxxed military members here.
As a retired military member, I know what that means. The military leadership can use “vaccination status” for determining assignments needed for promotion.
The military can use this “vaccination status” to determine who is eligible for temporary duty assignments, which are also needed for promotion.
So, vaccinations cannot be mandated, but the consequences for not getting vaccinated include lost opportunities. This is “friendly persuasion” at its worst.
It is a way to mandate the jab without saying that’s what they are doing.
What of those military members who have already been separated? There are 8,400 service members who were separated for refusing to get vaccinated. An additional 8,945 soldiers, 10,800 airmen and guardians, 4,172 sailors, and 3,717 marines unsuccessfully sought religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate.
Read about the back pay status in Task and Purpose.
Add to that the 60,000 reserve and guard personnel who were unvaccinated and therefore unable to receive pay and benefits.
Read about the Army cutting off 60,000 unvaccinated soldiers’ pay and benefits.
The military is not currently considering back pay for these individuals.
Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, has introduced a bill that would reinstate troops discharged over the military “vaccine” mandate. It would also protect unvaccinated troops, cadets, and midshipmen from punishment.
Rep. Roy’s legislation would also reinstate troops discharged over the mandate and return service members to their former rank and pay at the time they were discharged. Finally, it would remove from their official records any reference to adverse actions taken against them based on their refusal to be jabbed.
It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. For now, a partial victory has been won.
But sometimes you can win the battle and lose the war. I hope we win the war too. We owe it to our military and our veterans.
Linda Boyle, DM, MSN, is a member of the Alaska Covid Alliance.
