NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Governor Bill Lee refuses to comment as Tennessee National Guard members plead for their jobs.
Sources inside the Tennessee National Guard estimate there will be much as a 10 percent force reduction resulting from soldiers who are about to be discharged on June 30 due to refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination and have called on the governor to take action to protect their jobs.
Lee’s office refused to respond to several inquiries made on Wednesday by The Tennessee Star.
A person in the governor’s press office was reached live by phone and The Star was told that the individual would “ping the press secretary to see if they [Governor Lee’s office] were going to say anything” about the matter but no statement of any kind has been issued as of press time.
In an exclusive The Star previously reported, sources composed of a group of Tennessee National Guard soldiers are calling for Lee to take immediate action because “his adjutant general is about to discharge hundreds of his National Guard soldiers before the end of the month for not complying with an unlawful order.”
This group of Tennessee National Guardsmen provided The Star with their message for Lee on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of their positions:
The Governor needs to IMMEDIATELY order Major General Holmes to halt the discharge of these honorable men and women. He needs to order Attorney General Slatery to IMMEDIATELY coordinate with other state AGs to file an emergency injunction against the DoD, forcing them to reverse adverse actions against any National Guardsman for refusal to vaccinate. Governor Lee is the Commander in Chief of the Tennessee National Guard and he has that authority. It’s time to put a stop to this injustice now!
Those who have refused vaccination will be discharged no later than June 30, which is one week away.
Others, the sources say, who have requested exemptions for religious reasons, such as objections to their believed use of fetal cells in the development and testing of the vaccines, will follow shortly thereafter.
The sources pointed out that not included in those estimates of a 10 percent force depletion are those who have already chosen to voluntarily leave the service or retire early rather than “inject themselves with something they believe to be detrimental to their health or conscience.”
“Although it is difficult to estimate the number of soldiers who were compelled to accept the shot against their will, many of them have expressed support for those who have not complied. However, most are afraid to do so publicly due to fear of retribution,” one source said.
According to these sources, many have objected to the COVID-19 vaccines on strongly held religious beliefs, primarily due to their objection to the use of aborted fetal cells in the development and testing of the three available vaccines.
“Tennessee is overwhelmingly conservative and heavily pro-life. Many of our National Guardsman feel the same way and would be willing to forfeit their military careers rather than violate their moral convictions. The DoD established a policy for religious exemptions, but the Army designated the surgeon general as the final approval authority; not a chaplain or even a commanding officer who would have a personal connection with the soldier and understand their sincerity,” another source said.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, Truth Social, and Parler.
Photo “Bill Lee” by Bill Lee. Background Photo “Tennessee National Guard” by The National Guard. CC BY 2.0.
Nope
He isn’t going to rescue tng no Vax members
That would be pro-active and imply he has a backbone
Billy would not do the right thing for Tennesseans
I’m beginning to think we have a democrat gov.