After 19 years in the U.S. Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Brandi King was fired from her position because she refused to be vaccinated. When her request for an exemption for religious reasons was denied, she was terminated.
She hired a highly successful civilian lawyer with an extensive and successful career in defending such cases, Davis Younts, who said this was part of a pattern to “purge” the military of Christians:
Our military is being purged of those who dare to be faithful to their Heavenly Creator and Savior over the earthly authorities within the government and military.
This [case] should wake up anyone who believes their God-given, constitutionally recognized freedoms will continue to be protected by our military.
In her prior position she either worked alone or from her home. In addition, she tested positive on a serologic test, showing that she had COVID-19 antibodies present from having previously contracted the virus.
None of this mattered. The letter from her commanding lieutenant general said:
I understand your concerns, which are based on your sincerely held beliefs … [nevertheless] I disapprove your request for religious exemption from required immunizations, including the COVID-19 vaccine….
I do not doubt the sincerity of your beliefs. However … I also had to consider the risk to our mission.… Individual medical readiness is a critical requirement for maintaining a healthy and ready force.
He then said that if she chose to appeal his decision, she had 72 hours to do so.
Her commanding officer said that she would now likely “be subject to court martial, dishonorable discharge along with … punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Service (UCMJ).” He said that since her exemption had been denied, he would terminate her service.
Within 24 hours, her orders were canceled.
In her complaint she provided a timeline of the conversations she had with her superiors and said, “This cancellation of my previously approved order, due to my expression of sincerely held religious beliefs, is religious discrimination.” She added:
The cancellation of my orders was a direct result of my … intent to request religious accommodation [and as a result] I have suffered discrimination and substantial burden for exercising my religious beliefs.
Given her attorney’s remarkable record of defending officers in the past, it is likely that this case isn’t going to go away any time soon.
However, it does reflect the claim that Fox News host Tucker Carlson made on his show on September 20, namely, that the purpose behind the vaccine mandate, and the consequent denial of religious exemptions, represented a “takeover of the U.S. military” by progressives. He called it a “ruse” to rid the military of Christians and other undesirables:
The point of mandatory vaccination is to identify the sincere Christians in the ranks, the free thinkers, the men with high testosterone levels, and anyone else who does not love Joe Biden and make them leave immediately.
It’s a takeover of the U.S. military.
Whether that’s true remains to be seen. But King’s experience, and her filing of a complaint over religious discrimination, suggests that it is.
