Navy says destroyer can’t sail because commander won’t get COVID vaccine — and his superiors want him gone

The United States Navy is refusing to deploy a guided-missile destroyer because the ship’s commanding officer is unvaccinated for COVID-19 and allegedly has disobeyed orders related to COVID.

The U.S. military announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate last year that went into effect in October 2021. The policy does allow for religious, medical, and administrative exemptions.

The ship’s commander initially joined a lawsuit last October requesting relief from the mandate religious grounds. The commander then dropped from that lawsuit and filed another lawsuit, along with a Marine lieutenant colonel, in U.S. district court in January alleging their First Amendment rights were violated when they were subject to reassignment for refusing to get the COVID vaccine.

Neither the ship’s commander nor the ship he commands has been publicly identified.

In February, U.S. District Court Judge Steven Merryday issued a preliminary injunction barring the Navy from requiring either plaintiff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Stars and Stripes reported. The order also prohibited military commanders from taking “any punitive or retaliatory measure” against the military officers. – READ MORE