This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic brought widespread resistance to the Biden-era military's vaccine mandate, COVID isn't the only mandated shot being resisted by some service members for religious reasons.
Army Sergeant Dan McGriff (a pseudonym) spoke to WorldNetDaily on the condition of anonymity, anticipating reprisals. He emphasized that his views do not reflect those of the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army.
In the summer of 2021, during the thick of the pandemic, the non-commissioned officer "saw the writing on the wall," suspecting a COVID-19 shot mandate was on the way for military service members. So, in August 2021, he was not surprised to see the rollout of former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's now-rescinded mandate.
After conferring with his wife, he made the decision to seek exemption, not only from the COVID-19 shot, but for all future vaccines as well.
"Some people were getting responses back within 30 to 90 days at most, but mine took about six months, going all the way up to the Army surgeon general to be denied or accepted," McGriff told WND. "And in March 2022, I received my initial denial."
While the decision could be appealed, the Army sergeant said there was no guidance available. "I sent my appeal within seven days, and from that moment on, I was a ghost." He explained that even though he had approved orders for a new duty station, he was not allowed to move because he was "unvaccinated."
During this period, he was also barred from attending schools or training that could have advanced his career.
\With a large family to care for, McGriff grew increasingly worried about his future, knowing he could be separated from military service for refusing the shot. In September 2021, his fears were compounded as his appeal was denied. Subsequently, he received a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand, or GOMOR, a permanent stain on his record for so-called misconduct.
McGriff spent the next several months fighting for his career, to no avail. And on the brink of administrative separation near the end of 2022, he said the former Defense secretary suddenly rescinded the mandate on Jan. 10, 2023. "After turning in all but one uniform, my career was saved about 30 days prior to facing an administrative separation board," he recalled.
Unfortunately, his fight against being compelled to receive vaccines was far from over. As he told WND, "When my religious accommodation (RA) appeal was denied [in September 2021], the Secretary of the Army emailed a memo stating that I was denied and I could not request a blanket RA for all vaccines and had to do them case by case, or individually, even though they all went against my religious beliefs."
"With that, I exercised my rights to request not to take the flu shot" in October 2022, McGriff said. At a time when he was finally unflagged for separation, had the GOMAR removed from his permanent file, and was allowed to transfer to a new duty station, he said, "My previous duty station somehow lost my RA request for the flu vaccine."
Then in December 2023, he added, "I submitted a new one." Strangely, in January 2024, this new religious accommodation request had also been lost.
Today, Sgt. McGriff finds himself seeking a religious accommodation for the flu vaccine for a third time. There is an Army regulation in place stating he does not have to take the vaccine while waiting for approval. And though he considers it a blessing to have avoided the shot in recent years, he said, "There have been loose threats of denying leave requests for not having it."
Are the circumstances surrounding his objection to the flu vaccine a coincidence, or have they been deliberate? Either way, he feels that "when it comes to Christians, our religious freedoms are being trampled on while wearing the uniform."
In McGriff's opinion, "All vaccines should be optional and not mandated." However, as it stands today, if a service member is not up to date on immunizations, that service member is not considered deployable.
"Do our religious rights count for anything?" he asked WND.
Apart from his religious objection to vaccines, he also pointed out that "with mRNA vaccines being the future, things are going to get very scary very fast." After all, mRNA COVID-19 shots have been widely associated with a well-documented risk of serious side effects, including but not limited to cardiac issues and cancer.
