In an independent survey* conducted last fall, over 200 individuals in the military were questioned about the coercion they faced over the once-mandated COVID-19 "vaccine." To this day, they are demanding accountability.
Charles "Chase" Spears, one of the survey's participants who participated anonymously, is now retired and able to speak freely.
"Even prior to being mandated [in August 2021], many senior commanders and military installations created their own policy requirements out of thin air to either get the jab, or wear the mask," the retired Army major tells American Family News. "It was one of those things you were expected to do in order to prove all over again that you were on the team."
At his military workplace, he reveals, "there was a rigorous institutionalized shaming of those of us who were attempting to exercise our rights to object, both constitutionally and religiously.
"All the talking points about thinking critically went out the window," he adds. "Questions that countered the approved 'Faucian' narrative were viewed contemptuously."
Like Spears, 226 of the survey's 229 respondents said they did not want to receive the so-called COVID-19 vaccination. After the Defense Secretary's mandate went into effect, thousands were "harassed, threatened, and placed in menial work positions for requesting religious accommodation, while others were forcibly separated from service" for refusing the unlawful shot, according to the now-retired major.
Nearly 73% of the survey's respondents said they were "coerced" into receiving the COVID shot and/or boosters. Almost 95% said they faced reprisal for not getting the jab, including verbal threats of punitive action, loss of promotion, exclusion from career enhancing schools, and more.
"Under the pressure, I took it," Spears admits. "I had never refused to receive any other shots in my military career that were mandated. I had assumed [this] shot was lawfully ordered – despite my concerns about its experimental nature – but later realized it was unlawfully implemented and high-risk for the generally healthy military population."
Information not forthcoming
Not only were service members never offered a COVID-19 vaccine with full FDA-approval and licensure, they were also not informed about the risks to their health for taking the shot.
Over 96% of the survey's 229 participants revealed they were not informed by qualified medical personnel that the injection being offered was an emergency use authorized (EUA) drug. Nearly 97% indicated they were also not informed by qualified medical personnel of known risks associated with getting the jab, including damage to reproductive health for females, increased risk of heart disease to both males and females, and more.
"DOD leaders violated the law and broke trust with their fellow citizens in uniform," Spears argues. "They should be held accountable for their part in this, and for the damage it caused both morally and physically." Over 99% of the survey's respondents agreed, saying the vaccine should have never been mandated.
After the vaccine mandate was rescinded in January 2023, he laments, "I felt absolutely betrayed, having taken the shot for essentially no other reason than to appease [senior] military leadership."
"For those officials who, to this day, continue to refuse to admit any wrongdoing, they must answer for their actions," Spears argues. "It's the only way to begin the very difficult process of rebuilding trust with the hundreds of thousands across the force who were betrayed for partisan expediency."
One hundred percent of the survey's participants also said DOD should be held accountable for the manner in which the mandate was implemented.
For this reason, 231 active service members and veterans signed an open letter on January 1, seeking accountability over the harm caused by the DOD's implementation and enforcement of the now-rescinded COVID-19 shot mandate.
The initial announcement about the Declaration of Military Accountability was released on January 1 and has been viewed 4.4 million times on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the months since, a website has been made available for all Americans to pledge their support alongside the original signatories of the letter who are still demanding accountability for trampling their rights.
* Two-hundred twenty-nine individuals currently serving in the U.S. military responded to this independent survey conducted in the Fall of 2023. Respondents represented all branches of the military as well as enlisted and officer ranks.
