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U.S. Air Force officers revealed what it’s like for service members who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine — and how their treatment is leading to a “manpower crisis” in the military — on the May 6 episode of CHD.TV’s “Friday Roundtable.”

Active-duty Air Force officers Tanner Lott, Gregg Costin and Chance Pritchard described the military’s “no exceptions” policy to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate and its effects on morale and national security.

They spoke with hosts Polly Tommey, co-producer of “Vaxxed” and “Vaxxed II;” Children’s Health Defense (CHD) Marketing Manager Aimee Villella; Dr. Meryl Nass and CHD military health writer and veteran Pam Long.

The service members described an atmosphere of bullying, coercion and pressure on those who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. They expressed concern the policy is causing attrition and lowering morale, in turn threatening our national security.

They shared stories of men stuck overseas and paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to support themselves — and of service members committing suicide in the face of pressure and lack of support.

Despite service members’ right to refuse experimental vaccines, the military establishment continues to push, displace and punish them for making that choice, they said.

Lott said, “We have seen a lot of military members already be removed from the force and we stand to lose a lot more … A lot of military members who’ve worked for their entire careers … stand to lose everything.”

Captain Gregg Costin said:

“I’m not allowed, basically, to hold a leadership job, as of right now. I’m not allowed to fly. I’m not allowed to do basically the vast majority of the job and duties that I’ve been trained to do.

“I can’t attend official medical appointments … the bullying and coercion is definitely going on on a widespread level … [The military is] just, unfortunately, circumventing us from trying to do the things and the duties that we’ve sworn an oath to do …”

Those applying for religious exemptions also have faced fierce battles with their religious leaders, only to be persecuted for their views, sometimes facing hearings akin to religious tribunals.

“From the very beginning, when we had to do our interviews with our chaplains, [mine] started off pretty aggressively,” Pritchard said.

“I had to go back and forth for about 3.5 hours with the chaplain, which seemed more like an interrogation than … a means for the Air Force to accommodate or for the chaplain to hear me out and to hear my case. There really didn’t seem to be any accommodation or any tender ear to listen to the problem at hand.”

Mandates a ‘bait and switch’

Long explained the mandates are illegal, saying:

“What has happened is a fraudulent bait and switch where, allegedly, the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] has approved two versions of a COVID vaccine … by the two main manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, respectively, but … neither of those FDA-approved versions have been produced in the United States and they are not available to service members.

“They’re not available to anyone in the public, either, so the stockpiles that the [U.S. Department of Defense] is using and coercing uptake of are [Emergency Use Authorization]-labeled, voluntary, experimental [and] investigational.”

This is not the first time soldiers have been illegally forced to take experimental vaccines.

“We’re going through the same exact scenario which was deemed illegal by our courts until the anthrax vaccine was approved years later,” said Long.

“So what these service members are describing is the coercion to take an experimental vaccine that they have every right to refuse.”

The officers agreed this atmosphere is leading to a crisis in the military. In a recent article, Long wrote:

“The U.S. military currently has a manpower crisis on every front: recruiting, retention, attrition and morale. The commonality behind all these challenges is the toxic influence of prescription drug dependency of modern ‘public health.’

“In recent years, public health transitioned away from sanitation and clean air and water, and towards new annual vaccine mandates for every man, woman and child — regardless of natural immunity or risk factors.

“Will the resistance to the experimental SARS-CoV-2 vaccine become the catalyst that forces the Department of Defense to re-evaluate whether the goal to protect the force is actually purging the force?”

Captain Lott ended the discussion with hope and encouragement for others battling for bodily autonomy.

“All of us who are going through this,” he said, “believe it’s a spiritual battle, so I would just encourage you to live like Jesus — we love those who might not agree with us.”

“This is an opportunity to offer compassion but also be bold, speak truth, just like Christ did. And the truth is a unifier … when we set the truth free, the truth wins.”

Watch the episode here: