WorldNetDaily writer J.M. Phelps is a serious anti-vaxxer, especially when it comes to the military, and he showed that again in a May 15 article featuring a disgruntled retired Coast Guard guy ranting about it:
On the heels of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling the 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate “unlawful as implemented,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is being strongly encouraged to follow suit.
While the Department of Defense is the agency responsible for overseeing and directing the nation’s military forces, the Coast Guard is the only military service within the Department of Homeland Security.
WorldNetDaily spoke to Rocky Rogers, a Coast Guard IT Chief with more than 20 years of faithful service. Rogers fought against the now-rescinded 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate until a pre-approved retirement came to fruition in August 2022.
[…]“Many of us knew it was unlawful at the time, and now America knows it,” he said, calling attention to the fact that “Pete Hegseth verbally said it was unlawful [in a video posted to the Secretary of Defense’s official X account].”
Phelps offered no actual evidence that the military COVID mandate was “unlawful” beyond Hegseth’s opinion, yet he continued to let Rogers rant:
“Knowing it was unlawful like Hegseth finally admitted,” Rogers said, “many of us pushed back against the shot at the time, telling our chain of command they did not have to follow DoD.” Their pleas fell on deaf ears, however, and many Coasties were forcefully separated, resigned under duress, or retired from service in the years to follow.
On Jan. 10, 2023, DoD finally rescinded the COVID-19 shot mandate for service members, while the active duty component of DHS’s Coast Guard followed suit the very next day. However, Coast Guard Reserve did not rescind the shot mandate until March 16.
As Rogers told WND, “You can see that the Coast Guard chose to follow the SecDef rather than referencing direction coming from the DHS Secretary.” For him, it begs the question: “Why did the Coast Guard choose to follow orders by an individual that is not in the Chain of Command of the Coast Guard?”
“All of us who were following Coast Guard policy (CIM)1000.15) to exercise our religious freedoms were referreR to as ‘insubordinate wrongdoers’ by retired Commandant Paul Zukunft,” he shared.
Phelps did not detail what possible religious objection there could be to a getting a COVID vaccine. Still, he let rogers continue to rant unchallenged:
“Trust has been broken, and the Coast Guard is in disarray right now,” he explained. “They haven’t even chosen a new commandant after the last one was fired.” According to a DHS official, Admiral Linda Lee Fagan was fired as a result of “leadership deficiencies, operational failures, and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard.” An “excessive” focus on DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – policies was also mentioned.
What’s more, Rogers pointed out that “some Coast Guard boot camp recruits are still wearing masks that are proven to be ineffective.”
“Why would anyone want to join or get back into that?” Rogers asked. “I would encourage that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem make a public announcement to essentially mirror SecDef Hegseth’s statements on this unlawful order, as it would bring a lot of peace to those that stood firm.”
In fact, masks were effective in slowing the spread of COVID. But rather than consult with a medical professional on COVID-related things or a legal expert on the purported unlawfulness of the mandate, Phelps concluded his article by stating, “The U.S. Coast Guard did not respond to WorldNetDaily’s requests for comment.” Of course, that could be because they know Phelps is a bad-faith writer.
The headline on Phelps’ article states “Coast Guard wants 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate declared unlawful,” but it appears it’s just this guy. More dishonesty from WND.