That caught my interest as well. The vaccines have been approved on an Emergency basis, so the military can’t require it. Once it goes through the regular process, the military will require it.
The military can order troops to get vaccines. That’s not an issue. The coronavirus vaccine has only been approved for emergency use. That’s the problem. They can’t require troops to take an experimental treatment.
Nope, I was on the Humanities side of the house – specifically, Russian. My advisor had a poster tacked up to his office door, with a picture of a scowling cartoon Russian (fur hat, beard, boots, tunic) and the inscription “RUSSIAN LITERATURE IS BETTER THAN SEX”.
Story goes that one of his colleagues from the English department once paused outside, looking at the poster, said “that is patently untrue”, and walked on.
One of the wags in our class, hearing the story, said “but … he’s only read it in the translation!”
Something that’s been given to a third of the population with excellent results is no longer “experimental.”
ETA: It’s been approved for “emergency use,” and Covid-19 in the military is an “emergency.” You’d be hard-pressed to argue that it doesn’t threaten readiness. Jab 'em!!
This is tough because lethality is the mission of the Armed Forces. You want them to be killing machines. Now, who they are willing to kill is another issue altogether and that’s where better screening could be useful. Decades ago my nephew was graduating from the Naval Academy and was approached to become a Seal. One of the screening questions asked if he could fatally shoot a child he thought might be armed. He said he could not. He was not selected to be a Seal but is still a career Navy Pilot today. I suspect there could be a well designed cadre of questions to identify who needs to be watched.
Maybe they should start at the Air Force Academy, where cadets are FORCED to become “Born Again Christian” or they are harassed out of the Academy, passed over for perks and promotions, and physically assaulted.
The military has the ability to remove members for any number of reasons and there’s no Constitutional right to be in the Military. Maybe they’ll get it right this time.
It has to be more than just a set of questions. A thorough psychological examination is imperative along with a deep dive into their social media presence. Same thing for law enforcement.
We had a terrific guide in Rome the third time we went. I’d highly recommend spending the money. Her knowledge and insights were incredible. We took a couple of photos but preferred listening to her.