Wed Nov 17, 2021 – 3:40 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — The top-ranking officer in the Oklahoma National Guard said he will not enforce President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for the armed forces.
Adjutant General Thomas Mancino commands the Sooner State’s Army and Air National Guard. A November 11 memo from Mancino said “no negative administrative or legal action will be taken,” according to The Oklahoman.
The “lawful commander” of the reserve units is Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, according to the memo. Biden is only the commander of the National Guard if he mobilizes the troops for federal service, such as for deployment or patrolling the border.
“I hereby order that no Oklahoma Guardsmen be required to take the COVID-19 vaccine, notwithstanding any other Federal requirement,” the memo, posted on Twitter, says.
Mancino made the decision the same week he took over the command post from Adjutant General Michael Thompson, a supporter of troop vaccination.
The Department of Defense plans to oppose the Oklahoma National Guard memo.
“It is a lawful order for National Guardsmen to receive the Covid vaccine. It is a lawful order,” DoD spokesperson John Kirby said Monday at a press conference.
“Refusing to do that, absent an approved
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