US Service Members, Vets Push for Accountability After Vax Mandate: 'Military Leaders Broke the Law'
More than 230 active service members and veterans from all branches of the U.S. military have signed an open letter to the American people pledging to hold military leaders accountable for the illegal conduct and harms caused by the Department of Defense's (DOD) now-rescinded COVID-19 shot mandate.
The open letter titled Declaration of Military Accountability was released on Jan. 1. The letter states that "military leaders broke the law, trampled constitutional rights, suppressed the free exercise of religion, denied informed consent, permitted unwilling medical experimentation" when implementing COVID shot policies.
Under its COVID shot mandate, the DOD uniformly denied most of the 36,500 religious accommodation requests it received from troops to abstain from the experimental shot and involuntarily discharged more than 8,300 service members for refusing to take it, according to Liberty Counsel, a Christian religious rights law firm.
As CBN News has reported, multiple courts have already ruled that the DOD and the various military branches violated the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by denying requests for religious accommodation. In addition, thousands of service members have been forced to resign, prematurely retire, or have lost promotions and career opportunities.
Of the more than 8,000 service members who were forced from the U.S. military for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, only 43 have tried to rejoin in the eight months after the vaccine mandate was rescinded, according to data provided to CNN by the military branches.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
The letter confirms the DOD's shot mandate has led to many "vaccine" injuries, an increase in veteran homelessness, and even deaths leaving service members and their families suffering "financially, emotionally, and physically," Liberty Counsel said.
Specifically naming former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired General Mark A. Milley, as well as former and current joint chiefs, service academy commandants, inspectors general, and surgeons general, the letter's signatories admonish the U.S. military's most senior leaders for enabling "lawlessness" and "unwilling experimentation" during the 16-month mandate.
"These leaders refused to resign or take any other action to hold themselves accountable, nor have they attempted to repair the harm their policies and actions have caused," the letter states. "Since there has yet to be any accountability, the undersigned give our word to do everything morally permissible and legally possible to hold our own leadership accountable. We intend to rebuild trust by demonstrating that leaders cannot cast aside constitutional rights or the law for political expediency."
The letter's signatories noted they have "exhausted all internal efforts to rectify recent criminal activity within the armed forces," and that the leaders responsible are "continuing to ignore {their} communications."
Among those who signed the 12-page letter, several plan to seek political office to gain the legal authority to hold current and former military leaders accountable. Currently, out of the 231 signers, there are at least six veterans running for the U.S. Congress, according to Liberty Counsel.
In a statement, Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "It was unlawful to force service members to get this experimental shot and then equally unconstitutional to force them to choose between their religious convictions and their careers. The Pentagon's unlawful COVID shot mandate has inflicted irreparable harm on many service members and the military itself."
"Our Armed Forces have a sacred trust to defend our nation, but that trust has been eroded by the Pentagon's wanton disregard for the constitutional rights of its members. The signatories of the 'Declaration of Military Accountability' are demanding a strict adherence to the law and Americans should unite behind them to hold these military leaders accountable," Staver added.
A web-based petition has also been launched for the American public to sign, showing their support for the Declaration of Military Accountability. The petition states in part:
"This petition intends to kindle the spark of liberty into massive flames. To that end, we hereby pledge our support for the Declaration of Military Accountability and intend to expand this pledge to include holding accountable all those in government authority what have abused their positions in unlawful and corrupt ways."
The goal of the petition is to reach a million signatures from the American public showing there is widespread support for holding leaders accountable for violating constitutional rights. The petition was launched on January 2, 2024, and has already received more than 11,500 signatures, Liberty Counsel said.
