Tag Archive for: Navy SEALS

Navy SEALs Are Fighting For Religious Exemptions To Vaccine Mandates, And The Battle Is Far From Over

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  • U.S. Navy SEALs continue fighting in the courts to obtain religious exemptions to the military’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination while the Biden administration lets exemption requests stack up, unaddressed.
  • Legal experts argue that the administration’s argument to national security no longer applies in light of changing CDC guidelines.
  • “The Constitution, federal law, and DOD regulations all protect religious liberty in the military, and our courts have repeatedly reminded us that there is no [COVID-19] exception to the Constitution,” Mike Berry, senior counsel at the First Liberty Institute that is representing the SEALs, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Some Navy SEALs’ case for religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination trudges along in the Fifth Circuit court as defense leaders remain wedded to the Biden administration’s military vaccine mandate.

Pandemic restrictions have loosened significantly in most sectors, with federal guidelines changing to reflect the lessened threat of the virus, but the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to maintain that vaccination is critical to ensure readiness of the armed services. It will take continued litigation to convince the military to respect religious accommodation laws that would prevent thousands of service members from facing discharge or confinement to low-skill jobs, the SEALs’ attorneys told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“The law is on our side. The Constitution, federal law, and DOD regulations all protect religious liberty in the military, and our courts have repeatedly reminded us that there is no (COVID-19) exception to the Constitution,” Mike Berry, senior counsel at the First Liberty Institute that is representing the SEALs, told the DCNF.

First Liberty filed suit in November 2021 on behalf of 26 Navy SEALs and other Special Warfare personnel against the Biden administration, arguing that the mandate violates servicemembers’ right to free exercise of religion.

In January, a Texas judge, relying on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), temporarily blocked the Navy from considering vaccination status when making assignment decisions for the plaintiffs. The case reached the Supreme Court in March when the Biden administration asked the court to reverse the ruling, and the court granted a partial stay to the order.

“Generally, military members are required to follow orders, but in this case, the military has shown sheer hostility toward religious exemptions rather than using the least restrictive means possible. In its effort to be draconian, the military refused to even recognize the now proved science of natural immunity,” Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert told the DCNF.

Out of the 3,375 sailors who have requested religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine as of Aug. 24, only 46 have been approved, according to Department of Defense data. So far, the Navy has recorded 105,277 COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths.

“Did the Navy, in good faith, apply the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in these cases, or did they predetermine that they were going to deny all religious accommodations?” R. Davis Younts, an Air Force reservist and attorney representing several military members seeking religious exemptions, told the DCNF. Referring to the latter possibility, he claimed, “It’s clear that they did, and I think the facts continue to bear that out.”

The military needs to consider exemption cases individually instead of stonewalling requests or issuing blanket denials that no longer reflect the Biden administration’s own COVID-19 guidance, Younts added. The compelling interest of the military to require vaccination — that COVID-19 posed a direct threat to military readiness — no longer exists.

Sailors, soldiers and airmen, many of whom have years of highly-specified training and experience under their belts, remain in limbo while court cases play out, unable to receive promotions or continue their training, Younts explained. Thousands of service members may be dragooned out of a force that is already falling vastly short of its recruiting goals amid blatant threats of war from foreign powers.

“We’re being treated like pariahs,” he said.

The only way forward is continued litigation and “individual military members taking a stand,” Younts said, adding that any policy change among DOD leaders is unlikely.

“This is a public interest issue with significant implications … that has to make a difference,” he added.

Virginia on Tuesday joined 21 other states in filing an amicus brief, dated Aug. 29, supporting the religious liberty of Navy SEALs and other U.S. Navy members to seek vaccine exemptions. The Biden administration has asked the court to give the military “extraordinary” deference in its decision to mandate and enforce vaccination, undermining the fundamental liberties of Navy service members, according to the brief.

“Navy SEALs are some of our best and brightest, willing to sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms. Those who have filed religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine deserve to be heard and taken seriously,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement.

The states argued that they have effectively managed COVID-19 within their borders without infringing on religious liberties, and the government should be able to do the same. They decried the administration’s “overreaching and flawed claims of legal authority.”

“The Administration’s near-blanket refusal to grant religious exemptions is not credible … its denial in this case is not entitled to deference,” the brief stated.

“The evidence strongly favors the sailors. The Navy’s own testimony indicates that their decision was based on politics. There is no military or scientific justification for their assault on religious freedoms,” Gohmert said.

However, the Supreme Court had argued that the previous injunction overstepped the judiciary’s authority by overturning an order of the Executive made in an apparent effort to safeguard national security.

“RFRA does not justify judicial intrusion into military affairs in this case. That is because the Navy has an extraordinarily compelling interest in maintaining strategic and operational control over the assignment and deployment of all Special Warfare personnel — including control over decisions about military readiness,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the concurring opinion.

Discharges for sailors seeking religious exemptions have been postponed pending the court case, according to the Navy. Of those who either did not seek exemptions or whose requests were denied, 1,533 have been separated with honorable characterization of service.

The Navy and the White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pentagon Ignores Biden Admin Order To Stop Testing Unvaccinated For COVID-19

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‘Brave Warriors’: Trump Hails SEAL Team 6 For Successful Hostage Rescue

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President Donald Trump hailed SEAL Team 6 for its successful rescue of an American citizen taken hostage in Nigeria on Saturday, saying the kidnappers “wished they’d never done it.”

The U.S. military announced the successful operation Saturday, saying the American citizen, Philip Walton, had been taken hostage for less than a week before the U.S. special forces unit rescued them, killing six of seven kidnappers.

Trump made the comments during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, hours after first praising the special forces unit on Twitter.

“Last night, our Country’s brave warriors rescued an American hostage in Nigeria,” he tweeted. “Our Nation salutes the courageous soldiers behind the daring nighttime rescue operation and celebrates the safe return of yet another American citizen!”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1322568272483475457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1322568272483475457%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailycaller.com%2F2020%2F10%2F31%2Fkidnappers-trump-seal-team-6-hostage-rescue%2F

Neither the U.S. service members nor Walton were injured in the operation, according to the Pentagon.

Officials said local gang members kidnapped the Walton, who the military described as a farmer, from his backyard in Niger and planned to hold him for ransom. U.S. officials also said they feared the gang would sell Walton to terrorist groups operating in the region, according to CBS News.

“U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Saturday. “This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State.”

COLUMN BY

ANDERS HAGSTROM
White House correspondent.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

VIDEO: President Trump must direct an Investigation into the shoot down of Extortion 17

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Ninety-six days after the death of Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team Six, an old Vietnam era Army Reserve helicopter, call sign “Extortion 17,” was shot down in the Wardak Province, Tangi River Valley, Afghanistan on Aug 6, 2011. On board the Chinook CH-47D were 15 members of SEAL Team Six, 15 SEAL Team Six Support personnel, 1 Bomb Dog, 7 unidentified members of the Afghan National Army, and 1 unidentified Afghani interpreter.

died on extortion 17

The fallen heroes on Extortion 17

Currently, all autopsy reports are being held and sealed by the U.S. military. Three autopsies have been acquired by our private investigators revealing that there were bullets found in the bodies of one U.S. Navy Seal Team Six member and one U.S. Special Operations Support serviceman. The Autopsy reports list these deaths as homicides.

Two of the autopsy reports state the bullets, “recovered at autopsy were not retained because they are of no evidentiary value” and the bullets were subsequently thrown away.

How did America’s most elite warriors truly die?

To learn more about events surrounding the shoot down of Extortion 17 please click here.

RELATED VIDEO: Ninty-six days after the death of Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team Six, an old Vietnam era Army Reserve helicopter, call sign “Extortion 17,” was shot down in the Wardak Province, Tangi River Valley, Afghanistan on Aug 6, 2011. On board the Chinook CH-47D were 15 members of SEAL Team Six, 15 SEAL Team Six Support personnel, 1 Bomb Dog, 7 unidentified members of the Afghan National Army, and 1 unidentified Afghani interpreter.

Currently, all autopsy reports are being held and sealed by the US military. Three autopsies have been acquired by our private investigators revealing that there were bullets found in the bodies of one US Navy Seal Team Six member and one US Special Operations Support serviceman. The Autopsy reports list these deaths as homicides. Two of the autopsy reports state the bullets, “recovered at autopsy were not retained because they are of no evidentiary value” and the bullets were subsequently thrown away. How did America’s most elite warriors truly die.

Extortion 17, Obama’s Sacrificial Lamb

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“We lost more Americans on Extortion 17 than at Benghazi, Fort Hood, and Chattanooga combined. No loss is acceptable because of a rules-of-engagement failure, but Extortion 17 is the Mother of all Failures, yet most Americans don’t know about it. 30 of our finest servicemen, including 17 US Navy SEALs.” -Don Brown, author Extortion 17

After the killing of bin Laden, before Benghazi, was the shoot down of Extortion 17 by Islamic jihadists. The call sign had been given to the CH-47D helicopter and the mission dubbed, “Lefty Grove”. It occurred in the early morning hours of August 6, 2011 in the Taliban stronghold along the Tangi River Valley, Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

Some say the incident was a sacrificial offering by the Obama administration to Islamic terrorists for the U.S. killing bin Laden. On board this flight were most of the members of  Seal Team 6 who were responsible for taking out the founder of al-Qaeda.

The crash that day signified the largest loss in Naval Special Warfare, as well as single day loss since the war on Islamic terrorism was declared. No matter the motive, it is clear that the mission was compromised from the start, and too many red flags have been raised concerning the details of their mission as to dismiss foul play.

Several of the concerns are the following:

  1. The elite group was placed on a sub-standard helicopter versus traveling in a MH-47, which was typical.
  2. No return fire was allowed even after the circling CH47 sees Taliban moving into the landing zone. At that time they were flanked by to Apaches, all were denied permission to take out the enemy. A stand down order was given.
  3. No suppressive fire was offered to protect Extortion 17 while flying into a region where a 3 1/2 hour operation had been underway already, even though an AC 130 gunship was  available.
  4. The flight manifest was not changed, but a last minute swap of  7 Afghan security forces and 1 Afghan translator was made, an unusual happening in itself. So, there was no way of knowing who may have compromised the flight or tipped off the Taliban as far as location of the chopper. The identities of the Afghans are still not known.

If our rules of engagement were constructed in order to protect our soldiers instead of handcuff them, our brave men would all be alive today. The “stand down” order is proving lethal to our military.

Even after the incident, a disturbing and outrageous thing happened at the memorial service of these men at the Bagram Airbase before their bodies were flown back to the U.S.  During the ramp ceremony, a Muslim Imam prayed over the bodies of the Americans, once translated it seemed to have damned their souls to hell. At a 2013 Washington D.C. press conference, Lt. General Jerry Boykin stated,

“What I’m concerned about is that we had an Imam, praying over the bodies of our soldiers, is an indicator that we don’t know who the enemy is, we don’t know the enemies’ doctrine, his theology, or what motivates him.”

See below video:

General Boykin however, is well aware of those facts of Islamic doctrine and has been a leader in educating others about the dangers of it.  Now the Islamic ideology is in our face day in and day out, but what should alarm many is that the more clear the motives of this enemy, the more the administration and leftists showcase their affinity for those practicing and adhering to it within our country.

Representative Louis Ghomert, Tx states,

“When the families were briefed, one of the father’s of one of the Seal team said, ‘Why didn’t you just send a drone if it was such a hot area.’ And the Admiral stated, ‘Because we are trying to win the hearts and minds.’ ”

Billy Vaughn, father of Aaron Vaughn, one of the fallen Navy Seals, emotionally stated in the same press conference,

“Aaron Vaughn did not become a Navy Seal, Team 6 Gold Squad, to win the hearts and minds of the Islamic Jihadists. He became a Navy Seal to fight for this republic and defeat the enemy. And I’ll tell you right now any American flag officer that does not want to defeat the enemy, needs to find another job.”

The families of the fallen deserve to hear answers to their questions from the government. In addition, the Rules of Engagement must be changed to free our soldiers from debilitating regulations that continue to give a conquerable enemy an unfair advantage instead of providing our warriors with support to gain a crushing victory.

A documentary is being made about Extortion 17, called Fallen Angel. The intention is to raise awareness of the faulty ROEs, and in turn put pressure on our legislators and top military leaders to change them for the better. Please watch Fallen Angel: The Shoot Down of SEAL Team 6:

RELATED VIDEO: Barack Obama Accessory to Extortion 17 Murders!

Remembering the Shoot Down of Navy SEAL Helicopter ‘Extortion 17’ on August 6, 2011

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AUGUST 6, 2015 – Today, on the fourth anniversary of the shoot down of NAVY SEAL helicopter, call sign – Extortion 17, we re-release this critically important Press Conference that took place on May 9, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

RELATED ARTICLE: Obama administration accused of stonewalling in suit over downing of SEAL Team 6 Extortion 17 chopper

Lest We Forget: Below is a composite of those who died on Extortion 17:

died on extortion 17