Three military branches are walking back the Pentagon’s flu vaccine policy for military recruits, according to ABC News.
Two months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ended the military’s mandatory flu shot requirement — a policy dating to 1945 — the Army, Navy, and Air Force are reinstating it for basic trainees. Legacy media are pointing to a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base — over 220 recruits infected, four hospitalized — as the reason for the reversal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those at highest risk of hospitalization or death from the flu include young children, adults over 65, and individuals with underlying health conditions—categories that generally do not include the bulk of the military.
Hegseth’s original decision to scrap the mandate emphasized personal freedom and blamed vaccine mandates for weakening America’s fighting force..
“We’re seizing this moment to discard any absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our war-fighting capabilities,” he announced in April. “In this case, this includes the universal flu vaccine and the mandate behind it.”
“If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it,” he continued. “But we will not force you.”
The individual services found a way around that. While the Pentagon sets overall military policy, commanders and service branches retain broad discretion to adapt those directives to meet safety and operational needs. That flexibility allowed the Army, Navy, and Air Force to carve out formal exceptions — reinstating the mandate for basic trainees without technically overturning Hegseth’s order.
Only about 40% of incoming Air Force recruits at Lackland had been vaccinated when the outbreak began in early June. The Air Force is now moving to vaccinate its entire current recruit class and will require the shot for all future arrivals. The Army is preparing to go further, extending the requirement to troops deploying overseas, healthcare workers, prison staff, childcare employees, and soldiers participating in large-scale training exercises.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D), whose district covers Lackland, called Hegseth’s original decision reckless. “It was only a matter of time before an outbreak occurred,” he wrote.
The military members who were dropping like flies with the flu had damaged immune systems thanks to the COVID shots! They should be allowed to naturally recover and exercise their immune systems. It is horrific to add another toxic injection! Flu shots have been proven to be ineffective! I'd never send my children to the military if they are forced to take life-altering injections.
Forcing anyone at anytime to receive an injection in his/her body is a violation of our freedom given to us by God. Again, shame on the US government