In line with Department of Defense policy, staff at the Tennessee National Guard (TNG) will punish members who do not vaccinate themselves against COVID-19.
TNG personnel will discharge any members who decline to vaccinate themselves, said TNG spokesman Darrin Haas.
“We are following all of the Department of Defense mandates and policies, and we are making it mandatory for all National Guard troops to get vaccinated. We just started our vaccination program, and right now they have until next June. If they choose not to vaccinate then they will eventually be discharged. It will be a general discharge under honorable conditions,” Haas told The Tennessee Star this week.
“And then if six months pass and you go without any legal problems you can request to turn it into an honorable discharge. Then they [the troops] will also be given a full reenlistment code so that if they decide to come back in the Guard they will maintain their same rank. All they have to do is be vaccinated when they come back.”
The Military Wallet said that the military grants general discharges to service members whose performances are satisfactory, but who still failed to meet all expectations of military conduct. The military grants honorable discharges to service members who received a good or honorable rating for their service time and exceeded standards for performance and personal conduct.
Haas told The Star that TNG personnel have offered religious and medical exemptions. When asked, he said he did not know if TNSG staff members have been granted such exemptions yet.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III in August directed mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for service members, according to the U.S. Army’s website.
Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said at the time that Pentagon staff would only mandate Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines.
Kirby said the military will exempt service members with preexisting conditions and whose doctors advise against vaccinating.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “The National Guard” by The National Guard. CC BY 2.0.
