Inspector General Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released a report on the “Audit of Military Services’ Processing of Coronavirus Disease–2019 Vaccination Exemptions and Discharges for Active Duty Service Members.”
This report outlines concerns identified by the DoD OIG regarding the timely processing of religious accommodation exemption requests, the recording of medical and administrative exemptions in accordance with DoD guidance, and a lack of department-level guidance for discharge types or reentry codes for Service members discharged solely for COVID-19 vaccination refusal.
The DoD OIG found that the Military Services generally processed religious accommodation requests and appeals for COVID-19 vaccinations in accordance with Federal and DoD guidance, but the Army and Air Force generally did not meet the DoD timeliness requirements for processing the requests. The DoD OIG also found that the Military Services did not always record medical and administrative exemptions as required. Additionally, the DoD OIG found that the Military Services discharged Service members for COVID-19 vaccination refusal under Federal and DoD guidance, but that discharged Service members did not receive the same discharge type or reentry code.
“Prolonged delays in addressing requests for religious accommodations could impact a Service member’s job placement and impede the command’s ability to make well-informed deployment and assignment choices," said IG Storch. “DoD's lack of department-level guidance for uniformly characterizing discharges and assigning reentry codes for vaccination refusal resulted in Service members experiencing different impacts to their educational benefits and eligibility to reenlist after discharge.”
The DoD OIG made several recommendations, including that the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness review the religious accommodation request process to identify efficiencies that could be achieved during high-volume requests and issue guidance accordingly to decrease processing times. Additionally, the DoD OIG recommended the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness develop and issue guidance to require uniform discharge types and assign uniform reentry codes for Service members discharged for misconduct solely for refusing a vaccine. The DoD OIG also recommended that the Director of the Defense Health Agency, in their capacity as manager for the DoD Immunization Program, develop and implement a requirement for personnel to maintain supporting documentation for medical exemptions in the Service members’ medical records and administrative exemptions in Service members’ personnel records.