(OPINION) Marines have claimed in a new report that they are being “crushed” by the Defense Department’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with the military branch declining to approve a single religious exemption application.
According to the NY Post, Several active-duty Marines spoke to Fox News Wednesday and alleged that some of the Corps’ “best and brightest” were being forced out due to the requirement.
One lieutenant colonel told the outlet the Pentagon was looking to discharge members “as fast as they can and as brutally as they can, damaging every Marine as much as they can on the way out.” The officer claimed they were warned by a colonel: “Tread very carefully, this is political, you will be crushed like an ant.”
“Do I want to continue serving in an institution that crushes people for bringing up reasonable points in defending their faith?” they asked. A major with over 17 years of active service in the Marines called the vaccine mandate “an unconstitutional edict” that is “targeted as a political purge.”
“The louder I speak, the tighter the screws are turned against me,” a master sergeant also alleged. As of last week, 169 Marines had been discharged from service for refusing the vaccine. Members of the Corps had until Nov. 28 to get at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose unless they filed for an exemption.
In late November, the Marine Corps reported that 5 percent of its 180,000-strong active-duty force were unvaccinated at the deadline, a total of approximately 9,000. FULL REPORT
