.MaddowBlog: The new head of the Oklahoma National Guard effectively decided to go rogue on the Pentagon's vaccine policy. No good can come of this.
Up until last week, Maj. Gen. Mike Thompson was serving as an uncontroversial adjutant general of the Oklahoma National Guard. He then got a phone call from Kevin Stitt, the state's Republican governor, who told the major general that he was fired.It wasn't long, however, before an explanation came into focus.
On the heels of Thompson's ouster, the GOP governor tapped Brig. Gen.
Putting aside obvious questions about why the brigadier general would oppose mandatory vaccine protections for guardsmen and women during a pandemic, there's also an obvious chain-of-command problem: In the military, officers don't get to ignore lawful orders — especially those that protect troops from harm.
As Rachel noted on the show, it was a point the Defense Department seemed eager to emphasize yesterday. PoliticoThe Pentagon's top spokesperson on Monday insisted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to require National Guard members to get vaccinated against Covid-19, despite new resistance from Oklahoma's highest-ranking military official. "It is a lawful order for National Guardsmen to receive the Covid vaccine.
Kirby added,"Refusing to do that, absent an approved exemption, puts them in the same potential [for disciplinary action] as active-duty members who refuse the vaccine."
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
OK National Guard Chief Defies Pentagon Vaccine MandateThe new commander of the Oklahoma National Guard says he won’t enforce a mandate from the U.S. Department of Defense that all of the nation’s military personnel – including members of state National Guards -- have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Read more »
Tucker Carlson and other Fox hosts are holding an event that requires vaccination or a negative COVID-19 testFox News' COVID policy directly contradicts what many of the network's most popular hosts have argued for months. Carlson has compared requirements to 'Jim Crow' laws and has long spread false and misleading information about the science behind vaccines
Read more »
11-year-girl is lone survivor of Michigan plane crashAs she was being transported, medical personnel began giving her chest compressions, according to the Coast Guard's tweet.
Read more »
Labor Groups Press for Biden’s Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate to Go FurtherThree labor organizations have filed petitions asking the Biden administration to review its Covid-19 vaccine mandate, with some indicating the policy is too limited in applying to only large businesses
Read more »
What supply chain crisis? America's largest retailer is doing just fineThe supply chain crisis isn't slowing down Walmart.
Read more »