Saturday 14 May 2022 10:01 PM Four US Air Force Academy cadets may be banned from graduating after refusing ... trends now
Four seniors at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado may not be able to graduate alongside their fellow cadets because they have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Those seniors, also called 'firsties' face being fired from the military, getting a letter of reprimand - and could be on the hook to repay the government about $200,000 for their tuition, The Gazette reports.
They had all applied for religious exemptions to refuse the vaccine, the Gazette reports, but their applications had been denied.
Now, spokesman Lt. Col. Brian Maguire said they can either get the vaccine prior to the academy's graduation in two weeks - or they can 'elect to voluntarily resign.'
'Otherwise, they will face consequences for disobeying a lawful order,' Maguire told the Gazette.
But so far, the Air Force Academy is the only military academy that is barring its seniors from graduation due to their vaccination status.
The decision to let them graduate may ultimately be decided in the courts system, where multiple service members who have been discharged for refusing to get the vaccine are suing the federal government, which first mandated vaccines last year.
Four Air Force Academy cadets may not be able to graduate because they are not vaccinated against the coronavirus. The 2019 graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium is pictured here
The seniors may also face being fired from the military, getting a letter of reprimand - and could be on the hook to repay the government about $200,000 for their tuition
The cadets are required to get vaccinated against the coronavirus under the United States military's vaccine mandate. Cadets are seen here making their way to their seats at last year's graduation ceremony
The seniors, though, are part of more than a dozen cadets who face 'administrative separation' for not getting the vaccine after their requests for a religious exemption were denied.
There are also two juniors, one sophomore and six freshman at the US Air Force Academy who have refused to get the COVID vaccine.
Military leaders claim their refusal amounts to disobeying an order, noting that service members have long been required to get other vaccines to ensure the health of the force.
Students who were
