Retired three-star Coast Guard vice admiral rips Pentagon over vaccine mandate
by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter |
October 03, 2022 06:25 PM
A retired three-star Coast Guard vice admiral has publicly criticized both the Biden administration and the Department of Defense for continuing to discharge service members who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine.
Vice Adm. William “Dean” Lee, a Coast Guard veteran of more than three decades, published an open letter to fellow Coast Guard flag officers, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, on Monday.
Lee begins the letter by acknowledging that he isn’t against the vaccine and is vaccinated himself. But he goes on to say that he believes dismissing every service member who refuses the vaccine infringes upon First Amendment rights and that it is a hindrance to military readiness because each branch is in a recruiting hole. Dismissing these service members would exacerbate that problem.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/retired-vice-admiral-vaccine-mandate