US News

Coast Guard Vaccine Mandates Forcing Rescue Swimmers Into Retirement

Distressed Patriotic Flag Unisex T-Shirt - Celebrate Comfort and Country $11.29 USD Get it here>>


One of the many times Coast Guard rescue swimmer James faced death was when rough weather caused him to swing full-speed from a helicopter straight at a crab boat’s steel superstructure.

“I was swinging at that thing so fast. I just knew I was gonna hit it, and I was gonna die,” he recalled. “But at the last minute, I just barely cleared it, and I could feel it going right underneath [me].”

On the job, rescue swimmers have so many close calls they tend to forget about them, James said. Pulling sailors from icy water into helicopters requires peak physical condition, extensive skills, and a fearless disposition.

Rescue swimmers endure Navy SEAL-style boot camp that sometimes weeds out 80 percent of candidates. But rescue swimming is all pain and no fame, James said, because few outside the Coast Guard know what they do.

“You know what a Navy Seal is. You know what a firefighter is, and a police officer. But nobody knows who we are,” James said. “The difficulty of our training is on par with the other elite operators in the military. Our missions are just as difficult, but in a different way.”

There are only about 320 rescue swimmers nationwide, and few new recruits, he said.

Troubled Waters

Now, at least 35 rescue swimmers, including James, are facing a new challenge. They are on a collision course with the Coast Guard because the military won’t stop pressuring them to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

James and other rescue swimmers say the Coast Guard’s vaccine campaign has threatened their pensions, persecuted unvaccinated Coast Guardsmen, and destroyed trust in the chain of command.

To retire with a Coast Guard pension, rescue swimmers must spend 20 years in the service. All rescue swimmers in this story are near retirement and chose to remain anonymous in order to protect their pensions. The Epoch Times contacted the Coast Guard, but received no reponse.

In 2021, the military mandated the vaccine for Coast Guard rescue swimmers.

Epoch Times Photo
(Left to right) Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan Feske-Wood, a rescue swimmer, Petty Officer 1st Class Zachary Bowers, a flight mechanic, Lt. Rachel Quatroche, flight commander, and Lt. Addison Allen, the co-pilot, all from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, pose in front of the helicopter at Erie International Airport in Erie, Pa., after a search-and-rescue case May 16, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Air Station Detroit)

Many swimmers didn’t see the point of getting vaccinated, said James. Throughout the pandemic, they continued to perform their jobs.

“When there was no vaccine, we were going out on medevac hoisting people off of boats in the middle of the ocean that were COVID-positive,” he said. “We’ve never had any issues.”

“You’re also talking about the healthiest people in the Coast Guard,” said James, adding that rescue swimmers are one of the least likely demographics to die of COVID.

Rescue swimmers who face sharks, high seas, and death-by-drowning daily are willing to risk getting COVID-19, James said.

So, when rescue swimmers learned that studies linked the vaccine to myocarditis and other medical conditions, some of them refused to take it, James said.

“I’m just not willing to risk my long-term health over it,” he said.

John, a senior rescue swimmer, said that one person at his Coast Guard base developed a heart condition after taking the vaccine.

“This person was an avid runner. This person hiked all the time and then couldn’t do any of those things after they got their vaccination,” he said. “And I’m like, why would we even risk that? I don’t understand.”

To rescue swimmers, the vaccine is the last in a long line of Coast Guard rules that have made it harder for them to save lives, said another swimmer Peter.

During the pandemic, the Coast Guard put maintaining COVID-19 quarantines above the readiness of rescue swimmers, he said.

Even the slightest exposure to someone with COVID-19 put rescue swimmers on mandatory 14-day leave from work, Peter said. This policy left Coast Guard stations undermanned and overworked.

John said that when a rescue swimmer caught COVID-19, even vaccinated swimmers near them got quarantined.

“It took random amounts of people out of our job. But we were expected to still perform with the same quality and efficiency,” he said.

“The Coast Guard and other organizations were shooting themselves in the foot,” Peter said.

The Coast Guard also placed heavy restrictions on unvaccinated personnel, he added. “It just didn’t make sense.”

COVID-19 has spread across America, but unvaccinated Coast Guardsmen weren’t allowed to travel over 50 miles from their duty station without permission, he said.

“I go to the grocery store right down the street from my duty station,” Peter said. “No one’s wearing masks.”

Epoch Times Photo
A Coast Guard rescue swimmer rappells down from a helicopter in the middle of Hurricane Florence to see if anyone is trapped in a truck stuck in flood waters. (USCG/PO3 Ronald Hodges via Storyful)

If rescue swimmers retire or get discharged from the service because they won’t take the vaccine, the remaining people will have less ability to take up the slack, Peter said.

Official military health guidelines offer personnel several routes to avoid vaccination. Service members can refuse to take a vaccine if they have a temporary or permanent health condition that a vaccine could harm, a planned retirement in 180 days, or a religious exemption.

Religious exemptions come with qualifications, however. Exemptions may be granted “according to Service-specific policies.” Military command can reject an exemption request. But a service member can appeal this request.

“Military members should follow guidance from their chain of command for appealing an exemption decision,” military health guidelines read.

Some elements of the Coast Guard’s vaccine policy appear to contradict the normal military guidelines. First, the Coast Guard states that personnel 180 days away or less from leaving the Coast Guard still require COVID-19 vaccination.

“The administrative exemption from deployment (mobility) immunization for service members within 180 days of separation or retirement does not apply to immunization from COVID-19,” its website reads.

It adds that Coast Guard members without an approved religious exemption will receive punitive action from the Coast Guard, up to and including discharge from service.

Commanders may account for refusal to follow vaccination orders when considering requests for re-enlistment, advancement, training, or short-tour requests. But they aren’t allowed to address religious accommodation or deny a service member’s vaccine exemption request just because they asked.

Not Enough Manpower

If 35 rescue swimmers left early to avoid getting the vaccine, it would cripple the program in some areas, James said. Alaska’s rescue swimmer group could lose 30 percent of its swimmers, and Hawaii could lose 40 percent, he said.

With new retirements, the Coast Guard could likely be 70 rescue swimmers short by the end of summer, said Peter.

Even worse, the Coast Guard rescue swimmer school closed for repairs, which slowed down training, John said.

A strong push for complete vaccination risked driving away older rescue swimmers and new recruits at a time when no replacements existed, Peter said.

“The first question they ask is, ‘If I join, do I need to get the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine?’” he said of new recruits. When recruiters say “yes,” new recruits leave.

The Coast Guard pushed anyway, James said. It urged rescue swimmers to get vaccinated by Nov. 22, 2021, or face consequences. But it never explained exactly what the consequences would be for refusing vaccination, he said.

This ambiguity was worse than any clear penalty, said John, and the uncertainty tormented rescue swimmers.

“August 2021 to about February 2022 were the most stressful times in my entire career,” he said. “The environment, the workplace, this unsubstantiated pressure. And you can’t get a straight answer from anybody.”

Hurricane Florence rescue
U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Samuel Knoeppel (C) and Randy Haba (R) approach Willie Schubert of Pollocksville, N.C., on a stranded van in Pollocksville on Sept. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

“We were like, ‘Okay, well, what happens if we’re not?’” James said.

He said leaders told him he would probably be discharged from the Coast Guard, but he said he never received an official answer.

After the deadline, the only penalty was that rescue swimmers couldn’t transfer stations if they didn’t have the vaccine. But later, the Coast Guard allowed unvaccinated swimmers to transfer.

“They keep making these threats. And one and two people will go and get the vaccine,” he said. “They’re bluffing.”

Many swimmers intend to serve a full 20 years in the Coast Guard so they can receive a pension, James said. Expulsion from the Coast Guard could cost their families up to $1 million, he added.

“Every rescue swimmer I know has almost died because of this job,” he said. “And their entire livelihood and their retirement, it’s on the line, and they are still sticking to their religious beliefs.”

The stress rescue swimmers faced made it hard for them to do their job, said John.

“The whole environment at work changed. It was a stressful environment.”

John himself said he plans to retire at the earliest date he can receive his pension instead of working another year.

Twenty-seven rescue swimmers—about 8 percent of the force—will retire this summer, James said.

“I’ve never seen that many, ever, in my entire career,” James said.

Peter, James, and John all said they plan to retire at the earliest date that gives them a pension.

Sea Change in the Coast Guard

James said the Coast Guard’s attempts to encourage vaccination have destroyed his trust in the military to which he has dedicated nearly 20 years.

Epoch Times Photo
The Coast Guard helps tens of thousands of people every year. A rescue helicopter is shown in a file photo. (PA2 Adam Eggers/U.S. Coast Guard)

“With what I’ve seen over the last two years … I can’t wait to retire,” he said.

Many other Coast Guard members have lost their trust in the Coast Guard as well, he said, blaming the distrust on military leaders.

“The lack of faith that I see in leadership right now, I’ve never seen in my entire career. People are fleeing the Coast Guard like I’ve never seen. Rescue swimmers are getting out before retirement,” he said.

Congress could help rescue swimmers by letting them choose whether or not to get vaccinated, John said. Even a clear explanation of the decision-making process would help.

John said that rescue swimmers don’t understand why the Coast Guard has rewarded years of dangerous service with demands to vaccinate or get out.

“You put it all out there every time you do it,” he said. “And now you’re gonna tell me that that means nothing?”

Jackson Elliott

Follow

Jackson Elliott reports on small-town America for The Epoch Times. He learned to write and seek truth at Northwestern University. He believes that the most important actions are small and that as Dostoevsky says, everyone is responsible for everyone and for everything. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys running, reading, and spending time with friends. Contact Jackson by emailing jackson.elliott@epochtimes.us



Source link

TruthUSA

I'm TruthUSA, the author behind TruthUSA News Hub located at https://truthusa.us/. With our One Story at a Time," my aim is to provide you with unbiased and comprehensive news coverage. I dive deep into the latest happenings in the US and global events, and bring you objective stories sourced from reputable sources. My goal is to keep you informed and enlightened, ensuring you have access to the truth. Stay tuned to TruthUSA News Hub to discover the reality behind the headlines and gain a well-rounded perspective on the world.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.