The Air Force separated 610 Airmen for declining the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccination. Of them, 40 Airmen voluntarily left the service and 14 officers retired, according to Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Feb. 28.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has COVID-19 for the second time in 2022. Austin said in a statement Aug. 15 that he’d tested positive that morning. He was “experiencing mild symptoms” and planned to quarantine at home for five days in accordance with Centers ...
The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness revised the Defense Department’s COVID-19 guidelines. The new rules clarify what’s meant by being “up to date” on vaccinations and when personnel must wear masks in vehicles, among other changes.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III tested positive for COVID-19 Jan. 2 and is experiencing mild symptoms, he said in a statement. Austin said he last met with President Joe Biden Dec. 21 and his own staff Dec. 30. Both meetings took place prior to ...
Airmen from the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 2, the first deadline for any Reserve or Guard component in the military. While that deadline approaches, however, the Pentagon and the Oklahoma National Guard are engaged in a ...
The Air Force released its first snapshot of COVID-19 vaccination compliance Nov. 3, the day after the Active-duty deadline, with some 800 uniformed personnel refusing the shot and nearly 5,000 Airmen and Guardians waiting to find out if their religious exemptions will be approved. In ...
The COVID-19 pandemic likely isn't due to a genetically engineered virus and wasn't a biological attack, the national Intelligence Community says in a new report on the origins of the disease. But the agencies are divided on the likelihood of plausible origins. The findings are ...
The Department of the Air Force is preparing to discipline thousands of Airmen and Guardians who will miss a Nov. 2 deadline for full vaccination against COVID-19. As of Oct. 25, an estimated 10,000 Airmen and Guardians remained unvaccinated, with vaccination levels improving only slightly ...
The Heritage Foundation ranked both the Air Force and the Space Force as “weak” in its 2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength released Oct. 20, citing issues ranging from low readiness and misaligned investment in fourth-generation platforms to insufficient space domain awareness and offensive space ...
The Pentagon is imposing new limits on how many people may come to work as the number of COVID-19 infections continue to rise in the National Capital region. Beginning Sept. 9, Pentagon offices will be limited to 40 percent of capacity as the Pentagon institutes ...
Active-duty Airmen and Guardians have until Nov. 2 to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve have until Dec. 2. Personnel will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine, ...
In the next month or so, the COVID-19 vaccine will become mandatory for all Active-duty service members following Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III's announcement Aug. 9 that he will ask President Joe Biden for a waiver to require the shot by Sept. 15. For ...