Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-01) has signed on to an effort by more than 200 former troops to hold accountable current and former military leaders who implemented President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The group on Monday released what it called the “Declaration of Military Accountability,” which was sent to the top brass at the Pentagon, including Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The effort is being led by Brad Miller, a former Army lieutenant colonel who, according to RedState, left the Army in 2022 after nearly 20 years of service.
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The authors of the declaration said they intend to bring accountability and fix the loss of trust and left-wing activism at the Pentagon by running for office or seeking appointments within the federal government. Those on active duty will strive to reach positions of leadership in order to effect change.
The document Miller posted accuses current and former military leaders, such as Brown’s predecessor as Joint Chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley, of several things in implementing Biden’s mandate.
“Military leaders broke the law, trampled constitutional rights, denied informed consent, permitted unwilling experimentation, and suppressed the free exercise of religion,” the declaration asserts.
“Service members and families were significantly harmed by these actions. Their suffering continues to be felt financially, emotionally, and physically.”
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It notes that some slipped into homelessness or developed “debilitating” vaccine-related injuries. Some, the document adds, “even lost their lives.”
The declaration goes on to identify Milley, Brown and other top leaders as those responsible.
“These individuals enabled lawlessness and the unwilling experimentation on service members. The moral and physical injuries they helped inflict are significant. They betrayed the trust of service members and the American people. Their actions caused irreparable harm to the Armed Forces and the institutions for which we have fought and bled,” the declaration says.
“These leaders refused to resign or take any other action to hold themselves accountable, nor have they attempted to repair the harm their policies and actions have caused. Since there has yet to be any accountability, the undersigned give our word to do everything morally permissible and legally possible to hold our own leadership accountable. We intend to rebuild trust by demonstrating that leaders cannot cast aside constitutional rights or the law for political expediency.
“We intend to rebuild trust and restore the rule of law, particularly within the Armed Forces,” the document notes. “We will make every effort to demonstrate by example how an institution can put its own house in order.”
The signers also pledged to each other, on behalf of the American people and while “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for guidance and purity of intention,” that “we will do everything in our power … to hold accountable military leaders who failed to follow the law when their leadership and moral courage was needed.”
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One key ally is Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who has been routinely critical of woke military policies implemented under President Joe Biden.
Gaetz participated in a three-hour X-space talk on Monday that was led by Miller and drew more than 20,000 listeners.
As RedState reported, Gaetz praised Miller and the 230 other troops who signed the declaration for the “bottom up” approach to raise concerns about the rollout of the vaccines.
The Pentagon discharged thousands of soldiers who refused the jab, only to recently invite them back into the military as recruiting efforts have flagged, largely because, as Gaetz and other critics maintain, the Pentagon adopted left-wing politics.
“Many of you see the role I play in trying to ask tough questions and ripen these issues and build coalitions of lawmakers to make more strident demands and definitely direction,” Gaetz, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said during the discussion, according to RedState.
“We’re getting more progress. We educate people. But what was so impactful about this letter today is that it opens up more of the bottom up and the veteran outside in review and fair criticism of these decisions,” he said. “I think we should get other policymakers to embrace the themes you’ve laid out.”
Gaetz and other Republicans have championed — unsuccessfully so far — to get those discharged troops reinstated at their former ranks with full back pay and benefits. Gaetz added that he and other GOP lawmakers would welcome evidence to boost support for the underlying charges made in the declaration.
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“There’s times where people have changed policies because we’ve learned something from people on the ground,” he added. “People don’t want to become a federal whistleblower, but maybe they’ve got a photograph of a slideshow to ask somebody about, maybe they’ve got a quick video of something that would showcase a violation of law. That’s the type of information that we’re always looking to get so that we can make things right.”
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