---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

5 more states challenge Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Guardsmen

By Meghann Myers
Wednesday, Dec 15
Following Oklahoma’s lead, five additional states are pushing back against the Defense Department’s COVID-19 vaccine policy, putting their objections in a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday.The governors of Wyoming, Iowa, Alaska, Nebraska and Mississippi all signed onto the letter, asking Austin to lift his bar on unvaccinated Guard troops attending drill weekends or other mandatory training while in a federal, state-controlled status.Dictating circumstances for training, levying punishments for declining vaccination and requiring separation from the National Guard are “beyond your constitutional and statutory authority,” the governors wrote.

“We have received the letter from the five Governors and will respond in due course,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement Wednesday.

The battle between states and DoD over vaccine requirements for National Guardsmen kicked off in Oklahoma. In early November, the head of the Guard there announced that, on the order of Gov. Kevin Stitt, the state would not be enforcing the federal vaccine mandate for troops in a state-controlled status.The letter sent Tuesday takes a different tack from Stitt, who originally requested that Austin suspend the mandate for Guardsmen, then ordered his adjutant general to not enforce the mandate.The governors’ letter instead challenges the defense secretary’s ability to mete out punishments to Guardsmen who are not on federal status.

While each state’s Guard can be activated by its governor to help with relief efforts, for example, there are two federal statuses for Guardsmen: Title 10, which covers mobilizations at the behest of the president, as well as mandatory training and education; and Title 32, which is also at the behest of the president and federally funded, but leaves the governor at the top of the chain of command.
The fight over whether the Pentagon could enforce its vaccine mandate comes down to when the federal government has control over National Guard troops, which serve a dual role as a state militia. Oklahoma officials have said that Austin only has authority during a Title 10 activation.

The Pentagon has said that Title 32 status, which includes mandatory, monthly drill weekends, are also in their purview. As such, Austin has taken the stance that vaccines are part of a readiness requirement and that Guardsmen can’t drill without them.

---