Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in /home/dfctoday/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-social-share-buttons3/lib/core/share-counters/essb-counter-update.php on line 346
Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in /home/dfctoday/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easy-social-share-buttons3/lib/core/share-counters/essb-counter-update.php on line 324
According to court documents, U.S. Navy service members seeking religious exemptions from the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate have been transferred into deplorable living conditions and, in some cases, are unable to leave while awaiting termination from the military.
The First Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit in November on behalf of 35 active-duty SEALs and three reservists seeking a religious exemption from the mandate. The case has since been amended to include all Navy service members seeking religious accommodation as part of a class action lawsuit.
The Supreme Court blocked a lower court order in Texas in March that would have forced the Navy to halt the implementation of the vaccine mandate. Now, the case is still being litigated in lower courts across the country, and unvaccinated SEALs and other sailors who have not yet been terminated by the United States government are stuck in limbo, with the military forcing many of them into less-than-desirable alternative housing or barring them from traveling outside their base.
Sailors recounted deplorable conditions on large U.S. vessels in a June court filing by First Liberty in the Northern District of Texas Fort Worth Division District Court, where they remain while their cases are adjudicated.
U.S. Navy service members who are seeking religious exemptions to DOD's COVID vaccine mandate have been transferred into deplorable living conditions and, in some cases, are unable to leave while awaiting termination from the military. @1stLiberty https://t.co/kmJ25ZUzOy
— Kelly Laco (@kelly_laco) August 24, 2022
Another Navy technician who has served for more than nine years testified in writing that their performance rating began to suffer after they requested a religious exemption.
According to another recent filing by First Liberty, the Navy has not granted a single religious exemption to the mandate — there are currently 4,244 pending — but has granted 19 permanent medical exemptions, 189 temporary medical exemptions, and 3 permanent medical exemptions.
