"Hegseth: Flu Vaccine Optional"

[Halifax Tar]

Is the flu vaccine required for DAG green for CAF?

Nope. Never taken it. I also turned down the anti malarial otions for my Afg tours.

If you ever want some insight into the extreme critical biases going on over anything USA right now, look no further than this thread for a great example.

The US DoW implemented a policy that mirrors a CAF policy re: flu shots not mandatory. First that bit of non-news somehow warranted a thread about it... and look at some of the extreme responses about it.

Biases. Its a hell of a drug.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Yes, because it's an ideological change.

So what? All of politics is founded on ideological differences. In the US, conservatives will tend to change things in ways that favour individual liberty at the cost of some safety/security and progressives will tend to change things in ways that sacrifice individual liberty for some gains in safety/security.

The entire American project is a bet that the freer (and risk-tolerant) people are, the more prosperous and powerful their society will be. If they're right, they "win" and "win" big.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Tiny bit of extra detail - this from a conservative media outlet with a touch more detail than the info-machine shared:

... Under the new guidelines, individual branches of the military have a 15-day window to request specific exceptions if they believe a mandate remains necessary for certain high-risk operational environments, such as recruit training centers ...

More on that here:

... The services can submit requests for exceptions to the new policy over the next 15 days to Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata.

“The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member, everywhere, in every circumstance, at all times, is just overly broad and not rational,” Hegseth said in a video address. “Our new policy is simple: 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. You should. But we will not force you because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.” ...

It'll be interesting how they plan to balance the orange bit with the yellow bit in real life - "you can choose, but you don't have to deploy/work in the 'certain high-risk operational environment' in question"? Also not clear what the criteria'll be, and whether the approval buck'll stop with Tata, or need further OK's up the line.

Full memorandum attached (highest level 3-short-para one-pager), for the record.

 

[Halifax Tar]

. The services can submit requests for exceptions to the new policy over the next 15 days to Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata.

“The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member, everywhere, in every circumstance, at all times, is just overly broad and not rational,” Hegseth said in a video address. “Our new policy is simple: 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. You should. But we will not force you because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.” ...

I fully appreciate that.

 

[QV]

So what? All of politics is founded on ideological differences. In the US, conservatives will tend to change things in ways that favour individual liberty at the cost of some safety/security and progressives will tend to change things in ways that sacrifice individual liberty for some gains in safety/security.

The entire American project is a bet that the freer (and risk-tolerant) people are, the more prosperous and powerful their society will be. If they're right, they "win" and "win" big.

It seemed to have been working for at the least the first 250 years.