Murphy Stands Up for Marines, Demands Answers on COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

New Bern, N.C. – On Friday, Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) met with 25 military constituents who are all in the process of being discharged for refusing to comply with the Department of Defense's (DOD) COVID-19 vaccination mandate. All 25 service members have requested religious and/or medical exemptions for the vaccine. Immediately following the meeting, Rep. Murphy authored two letters to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General David Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps demanding answers regarding the DOD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. In his letters, Rep. Murphy slammed the DOD's COVID-19 vaccination policy as a threat to operational readiness and national security.

"I have argued for more than a year that mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for service members is unnecessary and puts our nation's readiness at risk, especially now since there are therapeutics readily available," said Rep. Murphy. "Unnecessarily discharging selfless and dedicated service members for refusing to get the vaccine is an insult to those who defend our freedoms, compromises our operational readiness, and hinders recruiting efforts for our Armed Forces. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ‘the greatest threat to peace and security' in his 42 years of service. During a time of heightened global conflict, it is reprehensible that Biden Administration is willfully degrading this nation's military readiness by discharging valiant soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen for refusing to comply with the mandate. I understand the need to have healthy service members ready to confront the enemy, but this not the correct approach.It is an honor to advocate on behalf of our Third District service members and I look forward to hearing back from the Secretary of Defense and the Commandant of the Marine Corps as soon as possible."

Rep. Murphy has fiercely opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates for U.S. service members. On October 28, 2021, Rep. Murphy sent his first letter correspondence to Secretary Austin voicing his opposition to the DOD's vaccine mandate as both a lawmaker and a physician of more than 30 years. You can read Rep. Murphy's original letter here.

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