More than two years after COVID appeared, very few private businesses remain closed by government mandate.

Attempts at forced vaccination for private individuals have been struck down and mask mandates are becoming increasingly rare.

But for hundreds of thousands of military members, the best estimate puts the count at over 250,000, government reaction to COVID is worse than ever. The careers of more than 10% of America’s servicemen and women are largely destroyed, futures uncertain, retirements at risk, benefits including the GI Bill ripped away.

This bleak picture for a massive chunk of America’s Armed forces is painted both by civilian and military leadership who refuse to grant legitimate religious and medical accommodation requests against an untested treatment for COVID-19.

The Sentinel spoke with Lt. Col. Davis Younts, a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer for the United States Air Force reserves who is committed to helping service members stand up for their God-given and Constitutionally-guaranteed rights in his private capacity as a civilian attorney.

Younts has seen firsthand the consequences when military command refuses to grant legitimate accommodations, both from his clients’ experiences and his own experience.

The careers of more than 10% of America’s servicemen and women are largely destroyed, futures uncertain, retirements at risk, benefits including the GI Bill ripped away.

“As the rest of society has moved on from the infringements the U.S. government placed upon its citizens during COVID, the military is still in the middle of it,” said Lt. Col. Younts.

While the best estimates indicate there are 250,000 servicemembers affected, Younts estimates that between 5,000 and 10,000 have already been discharged. Perhaps more.

According to Younts:

What we have to remember is that when this all started, all military members were facing full court martial, including criminal charges and almost certainly prison time. Thankfully, Congress took a very small step and said, the worst case outcome will be a general discharge. That made it an administrative action instead of going through the court martial process. There are far too many standing up against the mandate to court martial all of them. The Navy SEALs, for instance, were facing court martial and potential prison time.

It was a start, but despite this minimal protection from Congress, service members still face immense hardship, especially while waiting in limbo for multiple court cases to be decided.

And even though Congress now mandates nothing worse than general discharge, servicemen and women will still lose retirement benefits and pensions, will be denied the GI Bill, and will lose all veterans preference when applying for state or federal jobs.

Younts said:

Senior leadership and command have been fired over merely submitting religious accommodation requests, because the Department of Defense states that they have lost faith and confidence in their judgment over their personal convictions and decisions.

This kind of blatant disregard for legitimate religious concerns is unprecedented and has long been considered a direct violation of the law.

Service members across all branches are losing promotions and being fired for questioning the vaccines. Some pilots are not being allowed to fly, Navy SEALs are not being deployed and assigned low-level menial duties instead, and those who are requesting accommodations based on sincerely-held religious beliefs are having their pay impacted and will have a harder time getting jobs after the military.

Younts continued:

They’re ruining their career to take this stand even if they’re allowed to stay in. They can’t compete or be promoted, and aren’t being allowed to do the jobs it takes to receive promotion. Their careers are being destroyed over this stand.

There is good news, however. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a previous ruling and decided that the U.S. Air Force may not punish or fire service members who decided to not get a COVID-19 vaccination due to religious reasons. The lawsuit, filed by 18 plaintiffs against Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, stated that the mandate “substantially burdens their religious exercise in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA).”

This ruling in Doster v. Kendall is a significant victory in a likely years-long battle through all branches of the military.

The Sentinel asked how everyday Americans can support the troops and stand up for those who are fighting for their religious and constitutional freedoms.

Said Younts:

Right now, and urgently, the first way is to reach out to your senator and representatives. Several senators have asked how to help, and are planning to fight approval of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) unless Congress passes legislation in accordance with the funding to prevent this infringement on the constitutional and religious liberties of our military.

Younts said that people can reach out to their representatives and tell them to withhold support from the NDAA until and unless it provides reinstatement and backpay for those discharged.

“Significant pressure is needed,” Younts said. “The NDAA must be passed each year, so this is the best way to help.”

The second way to help is to provide continued awareness. Despite the difficulty of the last two and a half years, most of America has moved on.

“Nothing prohibits the branches from making life miserable for those who stood up against the mandate. To the extent that they can legally – not allowing promotion, command, moving, etc. – they are placing pressure on these service members. Continued awareness is needed.” -- Davis Younts

According to Younts:

Recognize that while there are big federal cases going on, there are still individual military members whose lives are in upheaval while waiting.

 

Multiple SEALs are not able to train or deploy, and are stuck doing menial tasks while all this litigation is ongoing. Thousands of service members have been kicked out, but even though there are more protections in place through recent wins such as Doster, many families and individual service members are still in difficult places and turmoil.

The biggest thing conservatives can do to help military families and individuals affected by the mandate is to spread awareness.

Said Younts:

Nothing prohibits the branches from making life miserable for those who stood up against the mandate. To the extent that they can legally – not allowing promotion, command, moving, etc. – they are placing pressure on these service members. Continued awareness is needed.

Those who want to show support for and stay informed on the fight for U.S. service members’ religious and constitutional rights can go to StandWithWarriors.org.