Navy Officer Fired over Refusal to Get Vaccine or Be Tested

A Navy commander was recently fired over his refusal to be vaccinated or tested for coronavirus, the first incident made public of a naval officer facing punishment for going against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate.

Commander Lucian Kins was fired Friday evening as the executive officer of the USS Winston S. Churchill (pictured above), stationed in Mayport, Florida, allegedly over his refusal to get tested for coronavirus, after declining to take the vaccine.

According to Fox News, Kins had applied for a religious exemption, which the Navy refused. He appealed that decision.

The Churchill’s plans and tactics officer, Lt. Cmdr. Han Yi, has taken Kins’s place until a permanent replacement is appointed. Kins has been reassigned to the staff of Naval Surface Squadron 14.

Kins, as the ship’s number-two officer, was on track to become the destroyer’s commander within a year and a half, according to the report. The ship is in a 14-month maintenance period.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 2004 and has served in the U.S. Navy for more than 17 years.

The Navy has set a deadline for its active duty sailors to be fully vaccinated by November 28, and its reservists to be fully vaccinated by December 28.

So far, 5,731 active duty sailors remain unvaccinated as of December 9, according to the Navy.

There have been 2,705 requests for religious exemptions from active-duty sailors; none have been approved. The Navy has approved seven permanent medical exemptions, 326 temporary medical exemptions, and 124 administrative exemptions.

Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on Twitter or on Facebook. 

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases