There are moments in life when you almost have to admire a person’s blind confidence, no matter how misplaced it may be. This is one of those moments: Someone anonymously sent the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria in Grafenwoehr, Germany, a “cease-and-desist order,” demanding the Army stop administering novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, mask mandates, and COVID testing.
“This order applies to all military personnel and the public,” said the letter, which was signed “We The People” in a fancy font that no doubt was meant to convey the gravity of the situation. As we all know, nothing says “I mean it, damnit” quite like a fancy, curly font calling back to the U.S. Constitution.
“Your failure to comply with these orders may result in you being charged with being complict or worse in crimes against humanity and genocide,” the letter concludes. “Thank you. Have a blessed day!”
A spokesman for U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria confirmed on Monday that the letter is in fact real, but the Army doesn’t seem too concerned with the possibility of this anonymous person charging them with war crimes.
“We’re not sure who ‘We The People’ are, but this will have no effect on our COVID preventive measures,” said Don Wrenn, a spokesman for U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria. “We will continue to follow the guidance provided by higher military authorities as it pertains to vaccines, testing and mask requirements as required to protect the health and welfare of the personnel assigned in the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria area of responsibility.”
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer was recently made mandatory for all U.S. service members after it received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. More than 178 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC study published in August found that unvaccinated people were 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people who were fully vaccinated.
Service secretaries were ordered to “immediately begin full vaccination of all members of the Armed Forces under DoD authority on active duty or in the Ready Reserve, including the National Guard, who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in an Aug. 24 memo. The COVID-19 vaccine joins over a dozen other vaccines that are required for service members in the military.
“Mandatory vaccinations are familiar to all of our service members, and mission-critical inoculation is almost as old as the U.S. military itself,” Austin wrote. “Our administration of safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines has produced admirable results to date … Our vaccination of the force will save lives.”
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