Army begins discharging soldiers who refuse COVID-19 vaccine

The US Army announced Wednesday it will begin discharging soldiers who refuse to comply with a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination rule.

“Unvaccinated Soldiers present a risk to the force and jeopardise readiness,” Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in a statement. “We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”

More than 3,000 soldiers could be discharged, according to the statement. The army had 482,000 active-duty personnel at the end of 2021. The vast majority of all active-duty troops have received at least one dose. Approximately 79 uniformed military personnel across the different services have died from the novel coronavirus.

“Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said. “Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness.”

The order applies to every regular Army soldier, active-duty reservist and cadet who does not have an approved or pending exemption request. “Service members separated due to refusal of the COVID-19 vaccination order will not be eligible for involuntary separation pay,” per the order.

As of Jan. 26, the Army said it has discharged two battalion commanders and issued 3,073 general officer written reprimands to soldiers for refusing to get the vaccine.