Originally Posted by
rickair7777
That is a legal technicality. Absent physical differences in the contents of the bottle, DoD can do it's own thing.
It is unusual how they are dealing with it, but I can tell you why and it has nothing to do with labels on bottles...
DoD needs to retain their high ground on mandatory vaccination (and other orders which potentially hazard service members).
If they went Article 15/CM and bad paper for thousands of members there would be too much political blowback and congress might just intervene with unpredictable consequences for future good order and discipline. Policy ADSEP keeps them in control.
I don't know if it's simply a "legal technicality." I've seen compelling arguments that the drugs produced under the EUA are not equivalent to the FDA approved ones.
Regardless though, that's in the weeds as this point. Enough digital ink spilled on that topic over the past couple years.
I'm more interested in the overall effect on military readiness. The discharges for refusing the Covid vax are one thing, but I wonder if we're starting to see the beginning of a big change in US military readiness.
The US had the draft between 1940 and 1973, alongside an option for people to sign up voluntarily. In 1973, we transitioned to an all-volunteer force.
For the most part, from 1973 through the 1990s, military service was a pretty decent deal. Sign up, train, get a skill, make a decision to stay in or get out. If you got out, you could use your GI Bill, VA loan, and other benefits to get a jump start on life. If you stayed in, you had a chance for a decent career and good retirement. Ultimately, not a real big chance of getting shot at, or getting deployed for a long period of time. Even through the 90s, the occasional deployments to the Middle East weren't too bad.
After 9/11, we went all-in on these endless nation-building exercises. Some people came home in boxes. Other people came home physically or mentally maimed. Lots of people with both. Add to that, while the US military has always put on a great PR campaign with the American people, the advent of social media really gives an opportunity for people to see beyond "An Army of One, Aim High, etc." The latest kerfuffle over vaccine mandate is just another black eye on the military.
For all the digs at millennials/Gen Z, etc, those 18-year olds aren't dummies. They'll do a quick google search before signing on the dotted line with their recruiter. Or maybe they'll just think back to watching our chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and decide that maybe community college is a better choice.
If you were an 18-year old today, and you were thinking about serving, would you sign up in today's military?
It'll be interesting to see how the military responds to the more challenging recruiting environment over the next five years.