The Navy Is Getting Ready to Boot Vaccine Refusers, But Is Offering an Olive Branch – By Konstantin Toropin (Military.com) / December 15, 2021
The U.S. Navy is giving sailors who have refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine a surprising choice: You can either start getting vaccinated, weeks after the formal deadline, or get ready for separation.
The service issued new guidance Wednesday outlining the steps ahead for those who haven’t gotten the vaccine and don’t have a pending exemption request. Officials said they anticipate most who are leaving the service will separate by June 1.
“We want every sailor to receive the vaccine and stay Navy,” Rear Adm. James Waters, the Navy’s director of military personnel plans and policy, told reporters during a roundtable in advance of the release. “And if a sailor gets their shot, we will honor that and make every effort to retain them.”
“On the other hand,” Waters added, “those who continue to refuse the vaccine will be required to leave the Navy.”
