WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Pentagon may take disciplinary action against an Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel who refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus on religious grounds.
The court’s brief, unsigned injunction gave no reasons, which is common when the judges act in an emergency. The three most conservative members of the court – Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch – noted dissenting opinions, but did not explain their views.
The court’s order, an interim measure that denied relief while appeals were pending, followed a similar ruling last month saying the Navy could consider the vaccination status of 35 of its service members when deciding where to assign or deploy them. The same three judges disagreed.
In the new case, Lt. Col. Jonathan Dunn, who was removed from his command after serving nearly two decades as a pilot, trainer and commander, said he was only seeking protection from further penalties, including dismissal.
Colonel Dunn, who has received many other vaccinations without objection, said he decided the coronavirus vaccine violated his faith after seeing President Biden speak about it, leading him to conclude that “the vaccine was no longer merely a medical intervention and a symbolic and even sacramental quality.”
This, he said, was “akin to the ancient Roman laws that required sacrifices to be made to Caesar.”
He added that he was infected with the virus and had developed antibodies as a result.
Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. Attorney General, told the judges that in its military judgment, the Air Force determined that “military vaccination is an essential part of military preparedness and is critical to protecting the health and safety of military personnel. . †
She added that Colonel Dunn had displayed poor judgment justifying his removal from the warrant on grounds unrelated to his refusal to be vaccinated.
When ordered to choose between getting vaccinated, resigning or refusing the vaccine in writing, Colonel Dunn instead sent a one-word memorandum to a two-star general several steps above him in the chain of command: “NUTS!”
The memo echoed Brig. Gene. Anthony McAuliffe’s famous response to a German surrender demand in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. Colonel Dunn’s lawyers told the judges he had used the term “to show determination, not to show disrespect”.
His immediate commander disagreed, saying the message was a “very disrespectful insult to the chain of command” showing “a shocking lack of military decorum.” Ms. Prelogar noted that the American officer who delivered General McAuliffe’s message had added an explanation. “If you don’t understand what ‘Nuts’ means, in plain English, it’s the same as ‘Go to hell,'” the officer said.
Ms Prelogar added that Colonel Dunn’s unit had to be prepared to deploy at short notice anywhere in the world, including in countries that require a vaccination certificate to enter.
She noted that the military needed vaccinations for a long time, beginning in 1777, when George Washington ordered the inoculation of the Continental Army against smallpox. As of early 2021, she wrote, nine vaccines were required for all service workers.
In August, the Defense Department said it would add the coronavirus vaccine to the list. According to court documents, 98 percent of Air Force members have been vaccinated.
The Supreme Court has traditionally been wary of questionable military rulings.
In other areas, however, the Biden administration has had mixed success in defending its responses to the pandemic in court. Another part of his efforts took a hit Monday when a federal judge in Florida repealed the federal mask requirement on planes, trains, buses and other public transportation.
If that case goes to the Supreme Court, the government will still confront an audience that has been skeptical of some of the mandates. In January, the judges blocked the administration from enforcing a vaccine-or-test mandate for major employers, even as they allowed a more restrictive mandate requiring health workers in facilities receiving federal funds to be vaccinated. And last year, the court overturned the government’s moratorium on evictions.