GOP Supported Changes, Democrats Said It Sends Wrong Message
In January 2021, Lance Cpl. Matthew McSpedon, a Marine stationed at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, GA, gets a mandated COVID vaccine. McSpedon said he “wanted to get the vaccine to show others at the base that it is safe.” Recently, the Senate voted to lift the mandate. U.S. Navy photo by Deidre Smith.
WASHINGTON, DC — Before year’s end, Congress passed the $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2023, the largest defense spending bill of its kind.
In the Senate, the bill was approved by a vote of 83 to 11 and raised the Pentagon’s budget $45 billion over President Joe Biden’s original requested amount. But despite the president’s objections, it also rescinded the Pentagon’s mandate that troops receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The military vaccine mandate has been a growing point of contention for conservative legislators, who have blamed the mandate for the Army’s failure to reach its recruiting goals by 15,000 soldiers in 2022. With the Republicans taking control of the House at the beginning of the year, there were threats by Republican leadership to stall the NDAA’s passage until demands to remove the mandate were met.
One of the most vocal opponents of the mandate has been Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who wrote an op-ed for the New York Post shortly before the NDAA’s passage, calling on Biden to relent.
“Our military is suffering a severe recruiting crisis, and Biden’s fixation on a never-ending pandemic and woke military is certainly not helping,” she wrote. “Biden should be laser-focused on ensuring the U.S. military remains the most lethal fighting force on the globe. Instead, he continues to impose a vindictive and unnecessary vaccine mandate on our troops, forcing many of them to the sidelines.”
The vaccine mandate went into effect in August 2021, requiring troops to get at least the first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or face dismissal. Since then, more than 8,000 troops have been discharged for refusing to comply.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced an amendment to the NDAA that would have reinstated those dismissed troops, but it failed to pass by a vote of 40-54.
The objections to the amendment were summed up by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) during a statement on the Senate floor.
“What message do we send if we pass this bill?” he asked. “It is a very dangerous one. What we are telling soldiers is: If you disagree, don’t follow the order. And then just lobby Congress. And they will come along, and they will restore your rank. They will restore your benefits. They will restore everything. So orders are just sort of a suggestion.”
In early December, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said during a conference that misinformation around the vaccine has posed recruitment problems in certain pockets of the United States, especially in the South.
Asked about Berger’s statements, DoD Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters, “We’ve seen very minimal impact on recruitment challenges. I think this goes back to … disinformation and confusion. Especially early on … there was a lot of hesitancy. But we have to remember, too, that 99% of active duty personnel have at least one dose of the vaccine. And 98% are fully vaccinated. We’re talking about such a small percentage who are not vaccinated.”
Singh also noted, “The reality is, we know the vaccine can save your life. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I believe there were 691 DoD personnel that have died from COVID, and that includes [servicemembers], family members and contractors. And, since April, there have only been two deaths from COVID-19.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has constantly affirmed his support of the mandate, stating that it actively protects the lives of servicemembers.
Change in Military Sexual Assault Prosecution
The NDAA does include one long-fought victory for Biden—a change to how the military handles the prosecution of sexual assault cases. The legislation takes such cases out of the military chain of command and puts them under the purview of trained prosecutors.
In 2021, the military saw 8,500 reported sexual assaults—a 13% increase over 2020. A survey of military personnel found that as many as 36,000 troops experienced unwanted sexual contact, up from 20,000 in 2018.
Victims who have come forward have reported facing retaliation, involuntary discharge and disrespect and dismissal from commanders. Advocates for military justice reform have pushed for years to have such cases handled by prosecutors who are trained in the law and do not have the immediate conflict of interest of those in the immediate chain of command.
“This is a historic milestone in the effort to professionalize the military justice system and give servicemembers a system worthy of their sacrifice,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). “I have fought alongside survivors, veterans, advocates and legal experts to implement a simple but fundamental change: removing judicial functions and prosecutorial decisions from the chain of command and putting them in the hands of independent, trained professionals. This … will instill confidence and trust in the system.”
