{"id":1368800,"date":"2022-03-10T05:31:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T10:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1368800"},"modified":"2022-03-10T10:35:56","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T15:35:56","slug":"u-s-navy-our-2-billion-warship-cant-deploy-because-the-commander-wont-get-vaccinated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-our-2-billion-warship-cant-deploy-because-the-commander-wont-get-vaccinated\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Navy: Our $2 Billion Warship Can\u2019t Deploy Because The Commander Won\u2019t Get Vaccinated"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fu-s-navy-our-2-billion-warship-cant-deploy-because-the-commander-wont-get-vaccinated%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1368800&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/03\/Destroyer.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Do you remember COVID-19? It was all the rage in the mainstream media until two weeks ago when it was replaced by Russia\u2019s military invasion of Ukraine. Well, it\u2019s still around, and the government-mandated problems in response to the pandemic are still wreaking havoc on society \u2014 this time for the American taxpayer as well as the United States Navy.<\/p>\n<p>Navy Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/03\/08\/destroyer-cant-deploy-because-co-wont-get-covid-vaccine-navy-says\/\">reported<\/a> on Tuesday that there is currently a \u201cstand-off\u201d between the U.S. Navy and the commanding officer of a destroyer warship that cost <a href=\"https:\/\/sgp.fas.org\/crs\/weapons\/RL32109.pdf\">nearly $2 billion to make<\/a> because the commander in question has refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>The Navy would like to fire him for not following orders and having lost their \u201cconfidence\u201d in his ability to lead the ship and crew. The Navy believes he is unfit to command for not receiving the COVID-19 jab, and as a result, could cause a national emergency because they would not feel secure sending the ship out to sea with him in command.<\/p>\n<p>However, the unnamed Navy commander \u201cwas part of a class-action lawsuit in October with several other service members challenging the military\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds,\u201d The National Review <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/navy-warship-commission-judge-bars-180427268.html?guccounter=1&#038;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&#038;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL6SS1SLh6XD7RCDu205hzflsDZl2LVCjNw7ryv7nd_80btVLQ-E4AiyAwoJoaAIZyRqwl5vNQ9m430eDStGHrOUxcM8b5zzyFXkyjzOY_bvGdOlj775Ic1wUlrhrFLkdsgbvZhepPW2HAJaXjEpWGm1bbsjuyIa7S_iPRYUhVoR\">added<\/a> as background.<\/p>\n<p>In response to that lawsuit, Federal Judge Steven Merryday of U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled in February that while that lawsuit is going on, the Navy and Marines cannot take any punitive action against members of those units who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine \u2014 despite orders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\">At the heart of the matter is the role religious liberty has to play in a person\u2019s decision \u2014 or coercion \u2014 to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/03\/08\/destroyer-cant-deploy-because-co-wont-get-covid-vaccine-navy-says\/\">noted<\/a> based on court filings:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><em>The issues stem from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/02\/18\/could-the-supreme-court-strike-down-the-militarys-vaccination-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida late last year alleging servicemembers\u2019 rights are being infringed upon by the COVID vaccine mandate because their religious beliefs prevent them from taking the vaccine.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><em>Judge Steven D. Merryday issue an order last month banning the Navy and Marine Corps from taking any disciplinary action against the unnamed Navy warship commander and a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel for refusing the vaccine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On February 28, the Navy requested permission to fire the CO, arguing Merryday\u2019s injunction is \u201can extraordinary intrusion upon the inner workings of the military.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Navy claimed that the commander has shown other callous behavior, such as exposing the 320 member crew of the ship he commands to COVID-19 in November of last year after he became ill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy forcing the Navy to keep in place a commander of a destroyer who has lost the trust of his superior officers and the Navy at large, this Order effectively places a multi-billion-dollar guided missile destroyer out of commission,\u201d defense attorneys claimed in court.<\/p>\n<p>But the commander\u2019s attorneys argue that \u201cThe Navy\u2019s feigned \u2018loss of confidence\u2019 in the Commander is patently pretextual and has everything to do with the Commander\u2019s lawful and orderly attempt to obtain judicial relief from an unconstitutional mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, the Times noted that the plaintiff\u2019s attorneys argued that \u201cthe ship was underway for more than 300 days during the 400 pandemic days when no vaccine was available\u201d and there was no \u201cno operational impediment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cIf there is injury to the Navy from shutting down the Commander\u2019s ship, it is self-inflicted and intentional,\u201d the filing added.<\/p>\n<p>Others in the military have also issued statements against the commander\u2019s decision to not get the vaccine, the Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/03\/08\/destroyer-cant-deploy-because-co-wont-get-covid-vaccine-navy-says\/\">reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><em>Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, the head of U.S. 2nd Fleet, called the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the case \u201cprofoundly concerning.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThe prospect of a subordinate commander in charge of other Service members or military assets disregarding the orders of his or her superior for personal reasons, whatever they may be, is itself a manifest national security concern,\u201d Dwyer wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But in his filings, Merryday rejected the Navy\u2019s request on March 3, and insisted the only thing being debated is whether or not the commander has the right under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to reject the vaccine:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWhat\u2019s more, the government\u2019s contention that vaccination against COVID maximizes the health and safety of servicemembers is not in dispute,\u201d he wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 jQOUvm body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThe defendants might prefer to argue that question, but the plaintiffs and the court address only the question presented in the RFRA claim,\u201d Merryday\u2019s order states.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The anonymous CO has been in the Navy since 2004, and has never previously had a blight on his record, the judge <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/navy-warship-commission-judge-bars-180427268.html?guccounter=1&#038;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&#038;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL6SS1SLh6XD7RCDu205hzflsDZl2LVCjNw7ryv7nd_80btVLQ-E4AiyAwoJoaAIZyRqwl5vNQ9m430eDStGHrOUxcM8b5zzyFXkyjzOY_bvGdOlj775Ic1wUlrhrFLkdsgbvZhepPW2HAJaXjEpWGm1bbsjuyIa7S_iPRYUhVoR\">noted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis peculiarly subjective determination of \u2018lost confidence,\u2019 arriving suddenly after 17 stellar years of service by [the commander] and after, to say the least, tense exchanges with his superior officer about vaccination and about his religious exemption claim does not warrant immediate deference but, rather, demands a closer examination,\u201d Merryday observed in his response the Navy\u2019s February 28 filing.<\/p>\n<p>The case will now continue on Thursday when Merryday will hold a hearing to further consider reassignment of the commander featuring a witness and exhibit from parties involved in the case.<\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you remember COVID-19? It was all the rage in the mainstream media until two weeks ago when it was replaced by Russia\u2019s military invasion of Ukraine. Well, it\u2019s still<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1368800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1368800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1368800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1368800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1368800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}