In Lloyd Austin, III, Secretary of Defense v. U.S. Navy Seals 1-25 the majority, granted an application for a partial stay of the decision below. The District Judge had effectively grounded twenty five members of the famous commando unit because the Navy refused to deploy them unvaccinated for covid.
This defiance by soldiers would ordinarily lead to discharge or discipline. But ordinarily was before Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch sat on the high court.
The dissenting commandos, who train for the most hazardous of missions, asserted scruples about taking the covid vaccine. The claims seem implausible given the other risks these commandos have volunteered to take. But the Supreme Court has made clear elsewhere that there is no claim of religious scruple so tenuous that it will not be taken at face value. Thus the Little Sisters of the Poor, themselves subject to vows of chastity, asserted that conscience prevented them from completing a form requesting exemption from the requirement that their health insurance cover contraceptives. The commandos asserted similar scruples.
But Justices Alito and Gorsuch found that "the Navy treated service members who applied for
medical exemptions more favorably than those who sought
religious exemptions". Conditioning military service on following orders seems to be the essence of the enlistment oath. But the new thrust of the Supreme court majority is that if any other comparable group is treated less harshly, then a free exercise of religion claims will be recognized. - GWC
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