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Posted on 06/25/2026 1:43:48 PM PDT by nickcarraway
All branches of the U.S. military began once again requiring their recruits to get flu vaccines earlier this month, an exception to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to lift the military's vaccine mandate, a Pentagon official confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday.
The news comes as Lackland Air Force Base in Texas — home to the Air Force's Basic Military Training program — grapples with a flu outbreak that has infected 275 people in recent weeks, a congressional staffer with knowledge of the matter told CBS News. The process of reinstating the mandate for recruits began before the Lackland outbreak was publicly acknowledged.
The unit at Lackland has implemented mitigation measures, is monitoring trainees who may have been exposed and is treating symptomatic trainees with antiviral medications such as Tamiflu, an Air Force spokesperson told CBS News last week.
Hegseth announced in late April that he was making the annual flu vaccine voluntary for service members "effective immediately." In a video posted to social media, Hegseth said requiring people to get vaccinated was "overly broad and not rational."
By early May, all military departments had formally requested exemptions that allow them to keep requiring flu vaccinations for certain service members, and those exemptions were granted in early June, according to the congressional staffer. The exemptions typically apply to vulnerable populations like people who live in communal environments, healthcare workers and other categories, the staffer said.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement last week that exceptions to the voluntary flu vaccine policy had been issued following a "comprehensive review."
"The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations," Parnell said. "The Department remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel."
Asked for comment Wednesday, the Pentagon referred CBS News to Parnell's earlier statement.
The flu vaccine was first mandated for troops in 1945, leading to millions of vaccinations, according to a 2022 analysis of vaccine mandates in the military. The requirement was lifted in 1949 but reinstated in the 1950s, and flu vaccines remained mandatory until Hegseth's order.
The Pentagon has long required personnel to get vaccinated against a range of diseases from hepatitis B to measles, mumps and rubella. Military vaccination programs date back to Gen. George Washington's leadership of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, a 2021 Congressional Research Service report notes.
The Biden administration also required service members to receive COVID-19 vaccines, leading thousands of people who declined to get vaccinated to voluntarily or involuntarily leave the military. That mandate was lifted in 2023, and last year, President Trump authorized service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine to be reinstated.
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just say no, recruits. violates my freedom of religion and my right of informed consent.
If you want to see a viral Petri dish, visit an aircraft carrier after a third world port visit.
dadfly wrote: “just say no, recruits. violates my freedom of religion and my right of informed consent.”
You do realize you’re advocating disobeying a lawful order?
1. they’re recruits according to the article. not a lawyer, but to me that implies a transitory status legally. so, i’m sure they didn’t sign any document that required abrogation of informed consent, since hegseth removed the requirement, himself.
2. conscientous objectors have been accommodated for many decades in the service. these recruits could just accept treatment instead of the jab, under informed consent. the treatments are far more effective than the proven ineffective flu jab; which no one should take, anyway.
3. thousands of patriots who refused the jab were drummed out of the service during the wuflu. service is still voluntary as far as i know.
As if they could say no? I remember shot day at Lackland. No opting out of that. Walked down a gauntlet of pneumatic jet injectors and as long as you didn't flinch, no scars. That's what they told us anyway. They could just silently add the flu shot to that. Not flinching seemed to work, I don't have any marks on my arms to this day and it was needles ever since for other jobs requiring worldwide deployment and exotic vaxxes.
standard FLU vaccines are pure hocus pocus that can make people get sick. The MRNA shots are suicidal.
I would say it it time once again for young people to reconsider if they want to join the military or not.
Why was it necessary to insult Catholics??
Close quarters in boot camp.
Close quarters on ships.
That’ll do it every time - close quarters, inadequate ventilation.
I remember the pneumatic shot guns. Don’t Move - you’ll be OK. Move and you’ll have a nice tear in your arm/leg/butt/whatever.
I could occasionally feel the liquid squeezing in - that’s weird.
Agree, my FRiend. mRNA shots turn YOU into a GMO. Among other things, the spike protein can be in your system for many moons, and make your immune system your enemy. Additionally, mRNA poisons don't just cause your ribosomes to churn out antigens, they cause you to synthesize Frankenstein peptides and proteins that have the potential to cause myriad health issues. I have friends who've gotten pretty sick (one died) very shortly after an mRNA booster.
standard FLU vaccines are pure hocus pocus that can make people get sick.
I'll disagree, here. Flu shots are roughly 30-60% effective. You can still get the flu, but the severity, duration, and risk of complications are typically lower.
About 6,000–7,000 trainees are at Lackland AFB at any one time in 2026.
So the USAF needs to get a grip. 275 infected people out of that lot isn’t as much as it seems.
And a flu shot now won’t help the already sick.
dadfly wrote: “1. they’re recruits according to the article. not a lawyer, but to me that implies a transitory status legally. so, i’m sure they didn’t sign any document that required abrogation of informed consent, since hegseth removed the requirement, himself.”
You’re what was called a ‘barracks room lawyer. That’s a slang term for a person who confidently offers unsolicited, authoritative-sounding opinions, particularly on legal or rule-based matters, without any actual formal training, qualifications, or authority.
In this case, you are providing incorrect information. Recruits typically receive their vaccinations on the first or second day after arriving.
Recruits cannot simply refuse standard mandatory vaccinations without facing administrative separation, loss of duty, or punitive action. While the military ended the COVID-19 mandate, recruits must still receive a battery of routine immunizations (includes the flu vaccine). Refusing a lawful order to vaccinate can lead to an Article 92 charge under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
However, recruits can request exemptions medical or religious reasons. Recruits with pending exemption requests will generally not be subjected to adverse actions until the review process is fully processed. If an exemption is ultimately denied, the recruit must comply or face discharge.
Too late and aren’t the flu shots from last years flu or are they complete garbage now and have nothing to do with flu
......served in America’s armed forces for 28 years...seems
that every year we were required to get our flu shot...if you
refused, it seems that an Article 15 action possibly awaited
you...in all those years I don’t ever recall any of my
fellow troops refusing that flu shot....
“The vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind,” December 23, 2021.
‘Recruits cannot simply refuse standard mandatory vaccinations without facing administrative separation, loss of duty, or punitive action. While the military ended the COVID-19 mandate, recruits must still receive a battery of routine immunizations (includes the flu vaccine).’
so your claim is that they signed for the flu vaccine and others. that i would have refused on the get go.
ok bud, your credibility with me is riding on that. i’ll check it out. thx for your input.
TokarevM57 wrote: “......served in America’s armed forces for 28 years...seems that every year we were required to get our flu shot...if you refused, it seems that an Article 15 action possibly awaited you...in all those years I don’t ever recall any of my fellow troops refusing that flu shot....”
Generally true. I have known some national guard who refused because they did not wish to have to take time off from their civilian job or pay for civilian treatment if the vaccine did cause an illness. In my unit, this was considered a legitimate reason for refusal. I never knew of any refusals for any other vaccine.
New Airmen at Lackland are stressed, sleep deprived (in some instances), and live and dine in quite close quarters.
Flu shots are a good thing for most, and make sense for Airmen Basic.
What I'm not certain about is the particular strain of flu in Lackland. If it's a newy, I'd be surprised if the new vax is available quite yet. (However, cross, partial immunity among different strains from last year's shot is a possibility.)
dadfly wrote: “so your claim is that they signed for the flu vaccine and others. that i would have refused on the get go.
ok bud, your credibility with me is riding on that. i’ll check it out. thx for your input.”
I have no idea what you mean by ‘signed for the flu vaccine and others’. The vaccinations are a part of the in-processing for new recruits. FYI, I retired after 22 years service on active duty and in the guard.
Do a google search for “do recruits have to agree to be vaccinated”. Vaccination is just not negotiable.
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