After years of litigation, thousands of Navy SEALs and other military personnel negatively affected by President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination mandate have won a significant legal victory, winning a court settlement. The mandate, announced by the Department of Defense (DOD) in August 2021, resulted in the discharge of more than 8,400 military members who refused to get vaccinated for religious or medical reasons.
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The Daily Mail reported that the settlement will correct the soldiers' service records. The paper detailed:
Navy SEALs and other special forces personnel have suffered professional setbacks for refusing to get vaccinated, despite repeated denials of religious accommodations.
They were fired, denied training for promotions, and in some cases forced to return their original signing-on bonuses of $4,000 to $7,000 by the military.
SEALs and other special operations forces have been ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal training fees and to return their hard-earned Trident pin badges.
Earning the “Trident” pin, officially known as the “Special Warfare Badge,” is a major achievement and badge of honor that indicates the wearer has met the rigorous requirements of being a Navy SEAL. Losing the pin is a major professional and symbolic blow to any SEAL.
In the face of these unjust hardships, a group of more than 200 active duty military and veterans is speaking out, demanding accountability from the Biden administration.
The infamous mandate was rescinded by the Department of Defense in early 2023, and administrative segregation measures for Navy personnel who refused to get vaccinated ended soon thereafter. However, the group demanded accountability from military leadership for breaking the law, trampling constitutional rights, enabling medical experimentation without consent, and suppressing religious freedom in implementing the vaccination mandate, among other actions.
In an open letter dated January 1, 2024, they vowed to hold those responsible accountable and called for the military's top leaders to be court-martialed “for the crimes they committed.”
The letter noted that the affected soldiers and their families have suffered greatly.
Service members and their families have been deeply affected by these actions. Their suffering continues to this day: financially, emotionally and physically. Some have become part of the growing veteran homeless population, while others have suffered serious vaccine-related injuries or lost their lives.
The letter accused military leaders of “continuing to ignore our communications regarding injuries and violations of the law.”
Military personnel who were discharged for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have not returned to duty even after the vaccination requirement was lifted.
Incident and settlement
According to Military.com, the settlement is in response to a lawsuit filed in November 2021, U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden. The suit alleged that the Navy and Department of Defense violated service members' First Amendment rights to religious freedom and “almost categorically refused” to accommodate requests for religious exemptions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The plaintiffs objected due to the fact that the mRNA technology involves aborted fetal cells, and they felt the injections would “alter the body's function, including inducing the production of the spike protein in a manner contrary to God's intent.”
The lawsuit also cites concerns about the SEALs' grueling mental and physical health conditions, as well as known side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, including potentially fatal myocarditis and pericarditis.
After nearly four years of litigation, the Navy agreed to expunge all of the plaintiffs' discharge records and provide them protection from discrimination on promotion boards for the next three years. “Promotion boards may not consider adverse information related solely to a refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when a religious accommodation is requested,” Military.com wrote, citing the lawyers' statement.
They also agreed to post a statement “demonstrating the Navy's respect for religious persons” and to provide more training to commanders who consider requests for religious accommodations.
Military.com noted:
The Navy also agreed to pay $1.5 million in legal fees to the plaintiffs' lawyers, who had previously received $1.8 million in compensation in a settlement of a separate lawsuit against the Department of Defense.
Plaintiffs will not receive any compensation in any of the settlements, and the settlements do not represent an admission of guilt or wrongdoing by either party.
The lawsuit was spearheaded by the First Liberty Institute and the law firm Hacker Stevens on behalf of the affected troops. Daniel Runyan, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, expressed relief and pride at the victory, telling the Daily Mail, “This has been a long and difficult road, but the Navy SEALs never gave up.” Heather Gebeline Hacker of the law firm Hacker Stevens called the result a “hard-fought but meaningful victory.”
Aftermath of the Mandate
According to data on non-compliance with vaccination mandates cited by Military.com:
About 17,000 military members have refused to get vaccinated, and that decision has led to more than 8,400 being discharged, including 3,717 Marines, 2,041 Navy sailors, 1,841 Army soldiers and 834 Air Force and Space Force members.
The military has granted only about 1,200 permanent and temporary exemptions to the vaccine, most of which were for medical reasons, according to MilitaryTimes.
Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro told Congress in May that he had “no regrets” about discharging thousands of service members who “did not follow orders.”
As Navy medical officer Lt. Ted Massie revealed, COVID-19 vaccinations have led to a significant increase in heart disease among military pilots: As of July 2023, cases of myocarditis and heart failure increased by 151% and 973%, respectively, according to official data from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) cited by Massie.
The conclusion of the legal battle against the Biden administration marks a pivotal moment for Navy SEALs, who and other service members who have long endured professional setbacks and personal sacrifices due to the vaccine mandate.
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