Today's D Brief: Top US threats, ranked; Pandemic politics; How the Army fits in the Pacific; Replicating robots; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson and Caitlin M. Kenney
December 1, 2021 10:52 AM ET
The D Brief
National Guard troops who refuse a COVID-19 vaccine can expect to lose pay and be kept out of training events, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo (PDF) dated Tuesday that the Washington Post’s Alex Horton got his hands on.
“No credit or excused absence shall be afforded to members who do not participate in drills, training, or other duty due to failure to be fully vaccinated against covid-19,” SecDef Austin said in the memo.
What this could mean: Guard troops may not feel the pain unless they’re on federal orders. That’s because, “Although some Guard troops could skip the vaccine and still serve within the state for some time,” the Post’s Horton explains, “they won’t be able to avoid the federal mandate if mobilized for an overseas deployment or attend various training programs vital for career advancement, all but ending their careers.” Continue reading, here.
The Navy and Marine Corps’s COVID-19 vaccination deadline for active-duty troops passed this weekend, but thousands of personnel remain unvaccinated, Defense One’s Caitlin Kenney reports. The Marine Corps said 95% of the force had at least one vaccine dose, while the Navy said 97.2% of active-duty sailors had at least one dose—and that is so far an unexplained decrease from the 99.8% service officials reported last week.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/12/the-d-brief-december-01-2021/187188/
