Pentagon Says It Has Authority To Require Oklahoma National Guard To Follow Vaccine Mandate

The Pentagon on Monday said it has the authority to require members of the National Guard to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after the Oklahoma National Guard’s newly appointed commander refused to impose a vaccine mandate ordered by the Defense Department.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “has the authorities he needs to require this vaccine across the force, including the National Guard.”

Kirby later added during a news briefing that it is “a lawful order for National Guardsmen to receive the COVID vaccine.”

“It is a lawful order,” he repeated.

“Refusing to do that, absent an approved exemption, puts them in the same potential [for punishment] as active-duty members who refuse the vaccine.”

The Defense Department in September said that all uniformed personnel must be vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, with varying deadlines for each branch. – READ MORE