SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A U.S. Air Force Reserve airman currently activated and working at Barksdale Air Force Base has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Defense, the Secretary of the DOD, and other military leaders over the U.S. military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
In a federal lawsuit filed Monday in the Western District of Louisiana, USAFR Senior Airman Faith Crocker, 21, claims getting the vaccine would violate her religious beliefs.
The Pelican Institute Center for Justice filed the suit on Crocker’s behalf after Crocker had exhausted attempts to get a religious exemption, which she said were “systematically and automatically denied.” Crocker faces involuntary discharge from the military if she refuses to take the vaccine, which her lawsuit claims would “end her dreams of finishing her education” because a “non-honorable” discharge would disqualify her from eligibility to receive educational assistance under the GI Bill.
Not only would it cut off her free tuition, but she says she would have to pay back any that’s already been paid.
“I was happy to join @PelicanInst in support of Sr. Airman Faith Crocker who has been threatened with discharge unless she takes a COVID vaccine, even though it goes against her sincerely held beliefs,” U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson said in tweet Monday after joining Crocker and Pelican Institute Senior Council James Bachr outside the Tom Stagg U.S. District Court in Shreveport Monday, where the suit was filed.
“We urge the courts to defend the religious freedom of all service members!” Johnson added.
In August, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered all military members to be vaccinated by Nov. 2, 2020, or face disciplinary actions and discharges. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members had a Dec. 2 deadline, a full month later than the requirement for active-duty members of the Air Force and Space force.
Crocker filed for a religious exemption on Oct. 17, which was denied on Nov. 29. Two days after the deadline to receive the vaccine, she filed an appeal to the denial of her request for a religious exemption, explaining in detail her belief that she should “have the right to control (her) own body.”
According to the lawsuit filed Monday, in that appeal, Crocker, “Citing to Scripture that her body is a temple of God,* and the “command in Genesis to ‘be fruitful and multiply.’**
“I do not take my religion lightly,” wrote Crocker, the daughter of a Baptist minister. “And I firmly believe that I am the guardian of the temple of God, and I am eternally responsible for what I (choose) to put in my body.”
Crocker said she refused to allow anyone to disregard her religion and asked for help in defending the Constitution. She thinks the Air Force is comfortable with losing her, but said, “My dedication and work ethic is not replaceable.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and military leaders have argued that the vaccine is critical to maintaining military readiness and the health of the force. And all of the services have now either discharged personnel for refusing the vaccine or put a system in place to do so.
As of February 2022, religious exemption requests from more than 3,200 airmen had been denied, and another 3,200 were pending. At least 97% of the troops in each service have gotten at least one shot.
Croker’s appeal was denied on Feb. 25 by USAF Surgeon General Robert I. Miller. On Mar. 8, she received an email from Lt. Col. Victoria Dewhirst, with an ultimatum giving her five days to take the vaccine, submit a retirement request if eligible; or refuse the vaccine in writing.
Crocker hired an attorney the following week and responded to Dewhurst stating, “I will not be getting the Covid-19 vaccination. That being said, I love my country and will not give up on the opportunity to serve but I also love my God and will honor him in all that I do.”
The suit was filed the following Monday.
*1 Corinthians 6:19-20
**Genesis 1:28
Note: According to the U.S. Department of Defense, in addition to the COVID-19 vaccination, the following vaccinations that all service members are required to receive before initial entry or basic training are as follows: Adenovirus; Hepatitis A; Hepatitis B; Influenza; Measles, mumps, rubella; Meningococcal; Poliovirus; Tetanus-Diphtheria; and Varicella
