The National Guard Vaccine issue, from the perspective of a Guardsman.

It is not a big secret that I am still in the National Guard, it’s also not a big secret that I have refused the shot-that-shall-not-be-named. It is a part of why I am leaving the National Guard with a total of 11 years of service when combined with my time in the Corps. Most people would say why flush all those years down the toilet? Ignoring all the other issues currently facing the US Military, when you disagree with the handling of the shot, it is a fairly easy choice. I have seen other members who denied the shot chastised and even face harassment because of their decision.

The Guard is currently facing a crisis. Almost 40,000 troops haven’t received the shot. And the Guard has decided to prevent them from attending training or receiving payment for it. This is their way around the requirement that troops that deny the shot can not be processed out with anything less than an honorable discharge. So they will make you become AWOL and then they can kick you out for that. But at the same time, they are facing a recruitment crisis. Very few people want to join anymore. Most people used to join because of a love of country and a desire to serve. Now they get people in with the lure of benefits. Naturally, the quality of enlistees will decrease when you start attracting people for what they will get instead of what they can give. I alluded on the last SOL podcast that NC is hurting with retention. The last deployment for most of the state took place during the Covid panic. It was SEVERLY mismanaged and most got tired of all the crap involved with a non-combat deployment combined with the hysteria of the “pandemic”. Add to that this mess with the vaccine and it is no surprise that people don’t want to stay in.

The Guard is not just some group of weekend warriors that don’t matter to overall US Military capability. The US National Guard traces its history back to the “minutemen” that kept themselves ready to respond within one minute during the build-up to and during the American Revolution. During WW2 National Guard Divisions were involved in the landing at Normandy. One earned the nickname “FDR’s SS” from the German troops they faced. Air National Guard F-15s were scrambled in response to 9/11. National Guardsmen made up 1/10 of all combat deaths in the GWOT.

The National Guard makes up 1/5th of all US Army Mechanized Combat Brigades. This is even more important when you consider the current changing of Army doctrine once again returning to a Peer/near-peer focus. This is a huge loss of experience, not just manpower. And consider the amount of experience the military has lost in the past 10 years due to the forcing out of combat experienced troops that didn’t fit the “garrison” environment. Remember the Marine Corps tattoo policy that seemed to almost focus on combat-experienced troops simply because they didn’t fit some sort of “aesthetic”? I remember the posters that they had up everywhere. Warning of how tattoos would affect future employment! Look at how accepted tattoos are nowadays, and how that policy cost the Marine Corps.

This shot issue is to help preserve the “health and safety” of the force. Yet how many troops died as a result of covid? How many died as a result of suicide? 34% of all recorded Active Military suicides have happened under Gen Milley. And look at what has happened under his tenure. Have we forgotten about the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle? I used to tell people I knew that if they wanted some discipline, to serve for something larger than themselves, and to learn some important skills while they were at it to join the Military. I do not tell anyone to join anymore. The military at large is sick, but it’s not from covid. It is from something much worse.