FIRST ON FOX: A Florida Republican congressman and an Army particular forces sergeant blasted the navy’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and woke insurance policies, warning the U.S. is falling behind our adversaries like China.
Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., and Sgt. Lonny Posey hopped on a video interview with Fox News Digital concerning the navy vaccination mandate and different far-left insurance policies, expressing their concern over their results on the U.S.’s navy readiness.
Waltz stated he believes “the existential query and menace of our time is how can we sustain” with our adversaries like China and Russia, in addition to “the very actual menace of worldwide terrorism that is now on steroids with the Taliban caliphate overlaid with 31 trillion in debt.”
SERVICE MEMBERS SOUND ALARM AGAINST ‘EXTREMELY WOKE’ MILITARY
Florida Republican Rep. Michael Waltz and Army particular forces Sgt. Lonny Posey mentioned the navy’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and different insurance policies in a video interview with Fox News Digital.
(Fox News Digital)
“And probably the most harmful by far of all of these is the Chinese language Communist Social gathering (CCP). Their navy is now bigger than ours,” Waltz stated. “Their house drive is launching extra into house. They’ve achieved expertise or technological superiority in areas like hypersonic missiles that we’re enjoying compensate for.”
“They’re stealing their method to the highest. They’ve a large nuclear modernization,” Waltz continued, noting that Chinese language President Xi Jinping was not too long ago “re-elected for all times” as the top of state.
Waltz additionally warned Xi desires to poise China because the dominant world superpower whereas the U.S. appears “to have a management within the Pentagon that is extra apprehensive about pronouns, sexual orientation, vaccines and different varieties of issues outdoors of warfighting.”
“And that’s made for us to have a much less prepared navy,” the Florida Republican stated, including he doesn’t know if the American navy’s dominance in fights is “the case anymore” and saying the navy must “proper the ship.”
Posey, a navy veteran of 23 years and particular operations veteran of 15 years, agreed with the congressman, saying “we’re not maintaining as a result of” of the navy’s concentrate on points like “pronouns” and “local weather change.”
“We’re apprehensive about these vaccines and stuff and really nearly getting to some extent of disabling and eliminating able-body employees,” Posey stated. “Within the midst of all these items occurring, we’re apprehensive about issues like local weather change, whereas our different adversaries are progressing in warfighting features and our focus is turned fully elsewhere.”
Waltz, a former Inexperienced Beret and energetic Nationwide Guard colonel, counseled Posey for talking out on the difficulty and referred to as the exemption course of a “sham course of.”
(Samuel Corum/Getty Photos)
Posey referred to as the Heritage Basis’s latest “weak” score of the U.S. navy “deeply upsetting” however not a shock. Waltz referred to as the score “very disturbing” and noting it “validates many issues that I’m seeing on the Armed Forces Committee,” including “our protection priorities are fallacious.”
The particular forces veteran informed Fox News Digital that the vaccine mandate and different comparable insurance policies are “having a large detrimental influence on morale” within the navy and stated 15 of the troopers in his unit, together with himself, are “apprehensive about getting the potential dishonorable discharge” in addition to “shedding safety clearances” they might use of their civilian jobs after leaving the navy.
Posey additionally famous that previously 12 months, he’s had 25 potential recruits “able to signal on the dotted line” stroll away from navy service as a result of vaccine mandate “and different issues they disagree with” that the administration is pushing.
When requested concerning the course of to get spiritual or different exemptions from the vaccine mandate, Posey stated he “cannot even let you know what the method fully is” and that he has “no thought” what number of hurdles there are to get exemptions.
Waltz, a former Inexperienced Beret and energetic Nationwide Guard colonel, counseled Posey for talking out on the difficulty and referred to as the exemption course of a “sham course of.”
DARRELL ISSA ACCUSES BIDEN DOD OF MOVING GOALPOSTS TO HIDE SCALE OF RECRUITING CRISIS
Rep. Mike Waltz speaks throughout a information convention on the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 24, 2021.
(Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg through Getty Photos)
“I’ve heard of only a few, if any, throughout all the navy providers truly getting permitted,” Waltz stated. “The truth is, I’ve heard from normal officers throughout the Nationwide Guard that everybody that they’ve gotten a solution on has been disapproved.”
“And, in the meantime, the overwhelming majority are simply sitting in limbo like Sergeant Posey,” Waltz continued. “They’ll’t practice, they’re not paid to go to the drill. In the event that they’re within the Nationwide Guard or reservists, meaning they’ll’t clock good years in the direction of retirement.”
“So not solely is that this hurting them now and hurting our navy now, it’s hurting their future,” the congressman added.
Posey famous that he has been testing his antibodies since first testing constructive for COVID-19 in July of final 12 months, noting he has “extraordinarily excessive ranges of antibodies” even in his newest take a look at “a few days in the past.”
The particular forces sergeant additionally famous that anybody looking for a spiritual exemption to the vaccine coverage “has to sit down down with a chaplain to evaluate whether or not their beliefs are honest sufficient to be granted approval.”
“In the meantime, if one in all my troopers walked into my door tomorrow, a man carrying a costume, and informed me that he was a feminine, I must settle for that with out query or I might be labeled a bigot or a transphobe,” Posey stated.
The navy has come below fireplace for its far-left insurance policies that critics say are diminishing navy readiness.
(AP Photograph/Chris Szagola)
“However now my troopers, over a vaccine that is been confirmed to not work, they’ve to leap by way of hoops simply to show their spiritual beliefs that they’ve held for years and years and years,” the sergeant continued.
“It is introduced into such scrutiny and query and it is simply fully asinine. And once more, it is so upsetting to observe as a result of we sit right here, we’re able to work, we need to work, and we’re not being allowed to,” Posey added.
Posey stated it’s “nearly as if the powers that be are attempting to dismantle a number of the strongest elements of the navy, that is made us such a robust navy over time” when requested what he thinks is driving the navy’s ideological freeze-out.
Each Waltz and Posey stated they’ve considerations concerning the future recruiting courses of service members, with the Republican congressman asking when the deluge of obligatory COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters will “finish.”
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Posey reiterated that he’s already experiencing recruiting difficulties for his particular forces crew and famous that his crew is simply “a small reflection” of what’s occurring writ-large within the Army and different service branches.
“I’d positively gamble that the remainder of the Army and all branches of service are going to be experiencing the identical factor,” Posey stated.
The Army didn’t instantly reply to Fox News Digital’s request for remark.
