Military’s Recruitment Shortfall a Direct Result of Vaccine Mandate: GOP Lawmakers

Forty-seven Republican lawmakers recently expressed “grave concerns” about military readiness as a result of the Pentagon’s mandate in a letter (pdf) dated Sept. 15. The Epoch Times spoke to four of the lawmakers who signed the letter, which called on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the Department of Defense to withdraw its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members.

“As a result of [the vaccine] mandate, eight percent of the Army’s approximately 1 million soldiers face expulsion” the letter stated.

The Army has only met 52 percent of its fiscal year 2022 recruiting goal, the letter added.

“While we are primarily addressing the Army’s recruitment problem,” Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) said, “this issue is a problem across the board for all our uniformed services.” With no lack of respect for the other branches of service, he said, “the Army is the cornerstone of our military presence in the world.”

Higgins and other GOP lawmakers agreed that the Army’s failure to reach its recruiting goal is directly related to the military’s vaccine mandate that was put into effect by Austin in August 2021.

“This is clearly the case because 40 percent of men aged 18 to 24 have not taken the vaccine,” Higgins explained.

Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) emphasized that “the mandate clearly disincentivizes 40 percent of recruits.”

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) noted that “In the southeast, which is the area which has the most enlisted persons, that number is over 50 percent.”

“What that means is that the Department of Defense has disqualified nearly half of their recruitment pool right off the top,” he added.

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 8, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

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