Navy Destroyer's Second-in-Command Who Refused COVID Vaccine, Testing, Is Relieved of Duty
The conundrum many Americans face is to either keep their job by taking the COVID-19 vaccine or fight for their freedom in the right to choose otherwise.
The mandates have now “moved up the ranks” and are affecting higher levels of the military as a high-ranking Navy officer refused to take the vaccine or submit to regular testing.
Navy Cmdr. Lucian Kins was the No. 2 officer of the USS Winston S. Churchill, a Navy guided-missile destroyer, who was relieved from his position on Friday because he refused to be tested for COVID-19, according to Fox News.
Fox reported that the Navy officials stressed that Kins was relieved due to his refusal to get tested because he was unvaccinated, not that he was unvaccinated.
Lt. Cmdr. Jason Fischer, a Navy spokesman, said Kins was relieved from his post because of a “loss of confidence” in performing his job duties.
Sources also told Fox News that Fischer applied for a religious exemption but that it was refused by the Navy.
He later appealed that decision.
Vaccine requirements are creating labor shortages across the country, and spurred concerns about the nation’s military.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that up to 40,000 active-duty military personnel are holding out against vaccination even as deadlines for the different service branches pass.
Despite having received $66 billion from the recently signed infrastructure bill, Amtrak is cutting down its number of routes due to an employee deficit.
While worker shortages plague numerous companies, employers are pushing back and the vaccine requirements are being challenged in courts across the country.
In a ruling last week by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, the mandates were temporarily blocked for employees of federal contractors.
The latest in a series of Biden administration court losses, it came on grounds that the president “likely” overstepped his authority, according to CNBC.
Further that the mandate is “costly, laborious and likely to result in a reduction in available members of the workforce.”
The decision applies “in all covered contracts in any state or territory of the United States of America.”
It is only applicable for federal contractors, not military personnel.
Kins was set to become commander of the destroyer within 18 months, Fox reported.
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