American army leaders might have violated federal legislation in obvious rapid-fire denials of spiritual exemptions to the Protection Division’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, a nationwide spiritual civil liberties legislation agency stated late Friday.
Memos obtained by Liberty Counsel written by performing DOD Inspector Basic Sean O’Donnell stated the official warned Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin of “deliberate violation[s] of federal legislation” throughout the company over the best way denial requests have been processed and turndowns have been issued, the group stated.
Of court-ordered studies from every department of the armed forces on Feb. 4, 2022 — apparently the most recent date for which figures can be found — the group reported that “out of 24,818 spiritual exemption requests acquired, solely 4 have been granted,” versus 4,146 medical exemptions given.
The contentious subject of spiritual exemptions to vaccine mandates has rippled by way of the army. In Could, 4 cadets on the Air Pressure Academy have been threatened with expulsion and lawsuits to get better six-figure tuition prices ought to they not get the mandated photographs earlier than commencement.
In a June 2, 2022 memo, Mr. O’Donnell advised Mr. Austin the DOD might not have complied “with requirements for reviewing and documenting the denial of spiritual lodging requests” for the exemptions.
“The denial memorandums we reviewed typically didn’t replicate an individualized evaluation, demonstrating that the Senior Army Official thought-about the complete vary of information and circumstances related to the actual spiritual lodging request,” Mr. O’Donnell wrote. “For instance, an Air Pressure basic denied one Airman’s request with the transient assertion: ‘I disapprove your request for exemption from vaccination beneath the provisions of AFI 48-110, paragraph 2-6.b.3.’”
Liberty Counsel’s assertion stated denial letters issued to Air Pressure and Navy servicemembers confirmed “related, if not an identical, wording.”
The repetitive method, the legislation agency stated, seems to contradict official DOD directions on spiritual liberty within the army providers. These directions require “officers charged with making suggestions or taking closing motion on a Service member’s request for the lodging of spiritual practices will overview every request individually, contemplating the complete vary of information and circumstances related to the precise request.”
Mr. O’Donnell additionally stated the velocity with which exemptions have been reviewed and denied was “regarding,” given the mandate to look at every utility packet fastidiously.
“The attraction authorities of the Providers we reviewed indicated that a median of fifty denials per day have been processed over a 90-day interval. Assuming a 10-hour work day with no breaks or consideration to different issues, the common overview interval was about 12 minutes for every package deal. Such a overview interval appears inadequate to course of every request in an individualized method and nonetheless carry out the duties required of their place,” Mr. O’Donnell wrote.
In an announcement, Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, stated, “The Biden administration and the Division of Protection are violating federal legislation by denying the spiritual free train rights of service members from the COVID shot mandate. … Their oath to defend the Structure and their willingness to provide their lives for our freedom should not be illusory. The abuse should finish.”
The Protection Division’s public affairs workplace didn’t instantly reply to a remark request from The Washington Instances.
