The United States Navy announced that it is forming a COVID Consolidated Disposition Authority (CCDA) to deal with sailors who do not comply with the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Sailors must get their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 14 to be in compliance with the mandate. Those who don’t comply will go through a “fair and consistent process” with the CCDA to handle separation determinations, according to an administrative message released Tuesday.
Sailors refusing the vaccine will not be allowed to be promoted or advance, reenlist or execute orders, except for a separation order, until their case is handled by the CCDA, the administrative message said. Commanding officers will be in charge of tracking which sailors refuse to comply with the mandate. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Elite Military Unit Risks Mass Exodus Over Vaccine Mandate, Retired Member Says)
Individuals who don’t comply will begin facing administrative action the day of the deadline unless they have a pending or approved exemption request. They could be subject to a general discharge under honorable conditions if they are only separated because of a failure to comply with the vaccine mandate. This could still threaten some veteran benefits for those individuals, the Military Times reported.
“According to data obtained Wednesday by https://t.co/jy1hGSXAkQ, 90% of the Army, 98% of the Navy, 95.4% of the Air Force and Space Force, and 85% of the Marine Corps have been partially or fully vaccinated.” per @Militarydotcom https://t.co/CqA9oqPOkm
— George Brauchler (@GeorgeBrauchler) October 10, 2021
There have been 164 active Navy members, Navy civilians, dependents and contractors who have died from COVID-19, the administrative message said. The Navy has confirmed that, as of Oct. 13, 94% of members are fully vaccinated and 99% have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the Military Times.