US Military Violated Rules in Handling of COVID Vaccine Mandate Exemption Requests: IG

A military member prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in Fort Knox, Ky., on Sept. 9, 2021. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

U.S. military branches violated their own rules in handling requests for exemptions from the force’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, a watchdog has determined.

The Army and Air Force went well over time requirements in processing exemption requests, the Pentagon’s inspector general found.

In a sampling of 12 religious requests submitted to the Army, the average processing time was 192 days. The Army’s requirement is to complete reviews within 90 days.

The Air Force took an average of 168 days to review the 35 religious accommodation requests. The Air Force has a review requirement of 30 days.

“Prolonged delays in addressing requests for religious accommodations could impact a service member’s job placement and impede the command’s ability to make well-informed deployment and assignment choices,” Robert Storch, the Pentagon’s inspector general, said in a statement.

The Marines and Navy generally met timeline requirements, according to the new report.

“The Air Force is reviewing the DOD IG report and will comply with any changes required by the Department of Defense,” an Air Force spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an email.

The Army said it is looking into the report.

Officials with the branches attributed the problem to the spike in exemption requests after the military imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 2021. The typical three or four requests skyrocketed into the thousands after the mandate was announced.

The mandate included exemptions for religious or medical reasons. The overwhelming majority of requests were rejected, often with form letters.

The audit was started in early 2022 after the inspector general received complaints. Sean O'Donnell, Mr. Storch’s predecessor, told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin later in the year that the military was violating federal law by assessing exemption requests generally, instead of on an individual basis, according to a memorandum obtained by The Epoch Times.

In the new report, however, the inspector general said it “found no evidence of a lack of individual review by the decision authorities” even though it said officials acknowledged drafting template letters that were often used in denying exemption requests and that some service members were not satisfied with the general nature of the letters.

Of the 116 requests analyzed by the inspector general that had received a decision as of June 2022, just 11 were approved—with nine being approved because the member was due for a voluntary discharge or retirement—while the rest were denied. Authorities said the denials came because they found that vaccination was the “least restrictive means” to further compelling military interests, an exception to religious freedom allowed in federal law.

Some other requests were canceled because the requesting personnel separated or became vaccinated.

As of January 2023, when the mandate was pulled because of a new law, more than 16,200 religious exemption requests had been filed. Just 339 had been approved.

Mr. Storch issued several recommendations, including that the military improve how it handles the religious exemption request system. The Pentagon said it would work to improve how it handles religious exemption requests during “high-volume” periods such as pandemics.

Adequate Paperwork Lacking

The watchdog also went over medical exemption requests and found that officials usually approved those exemptions in line with law and policy.

The 79 requests analyzed by the inspector general included 73 that were approved correctly.

The inspector general could not determine whether the other six were handled properly because of missing records.

The watchdog found that the military failed to maintain adequate supporting medical records in those cases, which included requests for temporary or permanent exemptions, and for 13 administrative exemptions.

Army and Air Force officials said they’re not required to keep records for some medical exemptions. According to Army guidance, officials are supposed to “document appropriately” in cases of temporary medical exemptions, and Air Force guidance directs personnel to use specific medical codes for such cases. But military guidance does not require keeping records for administrative exemptions, the inspector general said.

Military personnel, according to the report, also deviated from military guidance for recording the administrative exemptions, including by labeling some requests incorrectly. The Marines and Navy blamed the incorrect labeling on clerical errors.

The watchdog recommended defense officials require keeping documents supporting exemptions. A military official agreed with the recommendation.

Wrong Codes

The inspector general also learned that members who were discharged over vaccine refusal sometimes received a different discharge type or reentry code.

The Army, Marines, and Air Force issued honorable discharges, or general discharges, for members. The Navy issued honorable discharges. Federal law enacted in late 2021 prevented other kinds of discharges. In total, as of February 2023, 7,705 members were discharged for not complying with the mandate.

The Pentagon is already being forced to consider reinstating members who were kicked out over noncompliance with the mandate, but it has accepted only a small number back so far.

Sean Timmons, managing director of the law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, told The Epoch Times in an email that he believes the report attempted “to sanitize the harshness of the clumsy maltreatment of our veterans” but that Congress could use the information in it “to fully make those harmed whole.”

The inspector general also found that the military was using different codes for discharged members. Known as reentry codes, the codes show whether members are eligible to reenlist. The Army, Marines, and Air Force all used codes that meant the individual could not reenlist unless he or she received a waiver. The Navy used codes that meant members were not eligible for reenlistment.

The inspector general advised military officials to issue a requirement for branches to use the same discharge type in the future when the reason for discharge is vaccination refusal, and another requirement for reentry codes.

Pentagon officials said they would refer the advice to a working group, which would issue its own recommendations.