The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether to accept the case of over 30 military chaplains challenging Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s implementation and enforcement of the now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
In March, the chaplains filed an application for injunctive relief with the Supreme Court to protect from retaliatory actions used against them for refusing to take the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccine on the grounds of religious objection.
The Fourth Circuit’s dismissal of their case relied on the defense secretary’s argument the chaplains’ careers have been restored, a court cannot provide any relief, and there are no legal issues affecting the chaplains’ interests left to be resolved, that is, their case is moot. The chaplains counterargue that missed promotions and bad performance reports that remain have destroyed their careers.
“This is a very important case on multiple fronts,” Army Chaplain Brad Lewis, one of the chaplains in the case, told The Epoch Times.
He hopes that others involved in the case will be returned to their pre-mandate status, which would include the removal of any adverse action taken against them.
“But even more than that, there are massive implications to the Supreme Court’s decision for the country at large,” said Col. Lewis. “If we are unsuccessful, [the Pentagon] will silence and/or purge those who are sworn to defend the very foundation of our nation—the Constitution.”
According to Col. Lewis, “as the reliance on our faith diminishes, we lose one of the most powerful weapons we have in the defense of the Constitution, and our way of life.” For him, “If the government were allowed to infringe on the exercise of religion, we would become a society of laws with no moral undergirding for the execution of those laws.”
The Epoch Times also spoke to Arthur A. Schulcz Sr., a retired Vietnam War veteran and lead attorney for the case. His basic argument about religious accommodation could be reduced to: “Who determines the conscience of the individual? For the chaplain and other service members, is it the God of his faith or is it government bureaucracy?”
To that, Col. Lewis answered, “If we remove the God of faith, we’re left with nothing more than a bureaucracy to tell us what’s right and wrong.”
Col. Lewis’ career has been significantly impacted by the now-rescinded military vaccine mandate. In the months prior to the mandate, he said, service members were beginning to be pressured and coerced into receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. He was “intrigued” that businesses in the area and places like the commissary and the post exchange on the base remained open for commerce, while chapels were closing.
“It didn’t take long to realize the [coronavirus pandemic] was not going to be an isolated event, but it was going to be global,” Col. Lewis said. As businesses began to shut down and chapel doors continued to close around the country, the entire experience sparked his thoughts of a Biblical perspective.
Following graduation from the U.S. Army War College, Col. Lewis was not allowed reassignment, or a Permanent Change of Station, until the mandate was rescinded in January 2023 because he was unvaccinated. “For nearly a year,” he said, “I was left sitting in a student billet without much I could do, accumulating unrated time.”
“Eleven months of unrated time basically meant my career was over,” he said. “A gap of that size, in what is supposed to be an unbroken chain of evaluations, is a career killer in the best of circumstances.” He waited nearly a year, unable to do the job of a chaplain, despite requests and suggestions to higher leadership.
“Challenging the secretary’s authority to order the mandate and its implementation’s legality risked all he had earned in the Army,” said Mr. Schulcz. “[Chaplain Lewis] encouraged junior officers to honor the God of their conscience, recognizing their courage, integrity, and wisdom was vital to the military now and in the future. Chaplain Lewis is the kind of leader our military needs.”
Col. Lewis emphasized that his views don’t reflect those of the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army.
Replying to an inquiry from The Epoch Times, a Pentagon spokesperson said, “It is inappropriate to comment on pending litigation.” The Department of Justice didn’t reply to requests for comment on the litigation.
