Navy commander fired over vaccine refusal

[Sherman A1]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy commander has been fired from his job as the executive officer of a warship because he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine as required and refused to be tested for the virus, Navy officials said Friday.

Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill, a destroyer, by Navy Capt. Ken Anderson, commander of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal.

Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jason Fisher declined to give the precise reason why Kins was relieved of command, citing privacy concerns. Fisher, who is spokesman for the Naval Surface Force Atlantic, said the reason for the firing was that Anderson lost confidence in Kins' ability to perform his duties after he failed to obey a lawful order.

Other officials, however, said it was because Kins refused the order to get the vaccine, and refused testing to ensure he did not have the virus.

https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/navy-commander-fired-over-vaccine-refusal

[hlthe2b]

1. Good. Refusing lawful orders can not be tolerated in the military.

[Lochloosa]

2. Especially from a Commander.

[Midnight Writer]

48. Especially on a Naval ship. Close quarters make them a ripe breeding ground for viral disease.

[COL Mustard]

28. Officers Are Expected To Set The Example For Those Under Them

This guy failed. The Navy will win on these types of cases, every time.

[calimary]

3. Good.

I don’t give a damn WHAT your “excuse” is for not getting vaccinated. Shut the fuck up and take the shot, Dammit. Whether you like it or not, Dammit! COVID kills. Whether you choose to believe it or not.

[Zorro]

7. Enjoy your short stay, troll

[lapucelle]

8. Here's a snack for the ride home.

[Demovictory9]

4. here is a guy getting vaccinated as a business.. for others.

He’s vaxxed to the max, and that might not be a good thing.

An unidentified man in New Zealand may have been vaccinated as many as 10 times in a single day, according to Stuff.

The popular kiwi publication reports that it’s believed the multi-vaccinated man may have been paid to get shots under the names of other individuals, who want the privileges extended to those protected against COVID-19, but don’t want to get the jabs.

New Zealand Ministry of Health vaccine program manager Astrid Koornneef told Stuff that officials were “aware of the issue” and taking it “very seriously.”

Health officials are also working with law enforcement to investigate the situation. It’s unclear where exactly the individual got his multitude of shots, but Koornneef recommends that he visits a doctor again as soon as he can.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/man-vaccinated-up-to-10-times-in-the-same-day/ar-AARHzlD

[PatSeg]

18. What a bizarre story

10 shots in one day? That cannot be healthy.

[aggiesal]

31. Those chips in the shot ...

are going to track 10 people simultaneously.

[PatSeg]

39. Oh my god, I hadn't thought of THAT!!!

[MFM008]

6. for 23 years the USAF

told us what to do- where to go..live...etc.
I remember standing in the cafeteria to get a shot or two.
No choice.
No protest.
If today's military is afraid of a needle they need to go from commanders to enlistees.
If you dont want it get out with out the benefits.
Its just the way it goes.

[duhneece]

11. I don't think this is about the needles at all

I can only imagine how many vaccinations this man had to rise to the rank of Commander; I believe this man has been 'brainwashed' into the Q/Trump cult.
We'll see...or not. Lol

[PatSeg]

22. I agree

Mandatory vaccines in the military have been accepted for many decades. This commander even refuses to be tested for COVID. This is hardly the kind of person you would want in charge of others in the military. If he refuses this order, what other orders would he disobey. Such a leader needlessly puts lives at risk.

[PatSeg]

40. Yes, the contrast is dramatic

[crickets]

49. +1

[pandr32]

37. Of course

[oldsoftie]

15. Yes, we had a whole list of vaccines we took; yellow fever, typhoid, tetnaus, etc.

Nobody refused.

[Orangepeel]

9. I can't understand not getting the shot, but I REALLY can't understand not getting tested

Yeah, a person believes junk they read about fertility or what have you or is taking a misguided stand against government requiring an injection into their bodies. I don't get it, but I kind of see how someone else might get sucked in. But I don't get refusing to get tested at all.

[oldsoftie]

14. Because now there's people saying that even the TESTS are dangerous

Some say it GIVES you Covid. Others have other ridiculous claims about it. I'd bet most of this crap comes from Russian or Chinese accounts. Like the Rittenhouse verdict tweets; most were Russians

[liberalla]

44. "Some say it GIVES you Covid." __and__ "other ridiculous claims"

! ! ! WTF?

It is especially critical for military commanders to not be susceptible to horseshit conspiracy crap. If he believes this stuff, he is not fit to lead others. He's more of a threat and danger to his crew.

These leaders need to be grounded, stable, of sound mind and having good judgement.

*** However, it may be valuable to study him and learn how to deprogram him from cult beliefs.

[oldsoftie]

53. I know! Enough for Reuters to fact check it. Here you go:

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-swabs-idUSKBN27Y2XL

The clip (here) was posted to YouTube on Nov. 10 and shared numerous times on Facebook with captions reading: “Don’t get tested…the tests ARE the problem” and “people are genuinely getting sick now. I know many. And they have ALL gotten sick IMMEDIATELY after the damn test.”

[iemanja]

55. That kind of stupidity cannot be indulged.

Fuck them. Let them go jobless.

[PatSeg]

23. I don't either

It is dangerous to have such a person in charge of military personnel. How can he be trusted to make important decisions?

[wnylib]

10. Destroyer? Didn't think they had them any more.

Military are always getting shots. What would make him think that the covid shot is an exception?

[VGNonly]

43. Destroyers

The US Navy has 68 of the Arleigh Burke class, 2 of the Zumwalt class.

[dlk]

12. Did Kins think obeying orders was optional?

Getting his way was apparently more important than the health and safety of those under his command. Living in this selfish, alternate reality is truly a pathology.

[kairos12]

13. Refuse a lawful order. Get the f... out. What POS.

[Aviation Pro]

16. Three words: Peanut butter shot

Those who know, know.

[mountain grammy]

17. He's in a cult.. the military needs to weed them out.

[Farmer-Rick]

19. How did he expect this was going to end?

He was giving a lawful order and he refused to follow it. Someone who was enlisted would be sent to Captain's mast. I have been at Captain's Mast where refusal to follow a lawful order was the only charge.

Did he expect his CO would pat him on the back and say good job ignoring orders and setting an example for all onboard. He's lucky he wasn't court-martialed. Now his retirement is at risk and he's never going to become a CO or even be an XO again.

All because he didn't want to get a simple shot. 5 years from now NO One is going to care.

[Owl]

20. Good riddance

[CaptainTruth]

21. What does it mean to be "fired" in the Navy?

I understand demoted, relieved of duty, discharged (either honorably, less than honorably, or dishonorably), but what is "fired"?

Is this another case of a journalist using incorrect terminology?

[COL Mustard]

27. It Means You Are Releived Of Your Duties

You're not escorted to the door and off the payroll that afternoon, like you might see in the movies. Military members have due process rights and the services have processes and procedures in place to protect those rights. This former XO will still be on the payroll, but his evaluation from this position will be career ending. He'll never be promoted, he'll never be selected for anything significant (think counting spoons in the mess hall), and he may be processed for administrative discharge if he's not retirement eligible. And while normal processing for retirement can take up to a year (permissive TDY, medical exams, job hunting assistance, etc.) if this guy is retirement eligible his retirement will be expedited. The Navy will want him gone soonest.

[madville]

50. I would bet he is retirement eligible

And probably wasn’t likely to make Captain regardless. He’ll be removed from his ship, spend a few months or maybe a year processing out, physicals, admin, VA evaluations, etc. Then he’ll retire with his retirement pay and full benefits and the self satisfaction that he became a martyr in his own mind.

[COL Mustard]

51. According To His Linkedin Profile

He graduated from USNA in 2004. So, nope...not retirement eligible. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. What a dick. He'd been to Senior Service College too, so yet another expensive, taxpayer funded school, thankyouverymuch!

[madville]

54. Interesting, yeah service academy time doesn't count

Towards retirement for commissioned officers. Will be interesting to see how they handle it, if he resigns on his own, etc. Either way, doesn’t really matter, no one is irreplaceable especially in the military, next one up off the bench, you’re in! Lol.

[ashredux]

24. It's hard to understand why someone would throw their career away on this

It’s hard to understand why someone would throw their career away on this.

Refuse to even be tested? Just damn crazy

[Tanuki]

25. I haven't heard people use the term "mutiny" for this,

but isn't that really what we have here? Why would any one in the military think they could get by with this type of blatant and dangerous insubordination? It can't he tolerated.

[ejbr]

36. +1/nt

[piddyprints]

26. YESSSS!!

I grew up in the Army and remember getting poked with vaccinations at every turn. Dad was stationed in Germany and then we came back to the states. Guess what? Jabs before we got on planes.

When my daughter went in to the Air Force, she had to get flu shots and such, even though she didn't want them. Yeah, she got side-effects. Then she knew what to expect next time. We'd kept all her childhood vaccinations up, so at least she was up to date on all of them.

You don't get to refuse orders in the armed forces. If vaccine mandates were good enough for George Washington, they're good enough for us. Glad to see there are consequences for these dopes.

[Zambero]

29. Bad judgment and insubordination

More than enough to warrant dismissal. I'd wager that the "aggrieved" has already been booked onto the Hannity show.

[gab13by13]

30. Not so sure that would be in his best interests.

It would also send a message to others in the military. I hope he goes on Fox.

[paleotn]

33. Bingo!

[Wounded Bear]

32. Leadership requires setting examples for subordinates...

any officer with that attitude needs to be culled from the service.

[ejbr]

34. Bye Felicia

All those years of work to get where he got. He got about 17 vaccinations to join but wouldn't get 1 more to remain. Brain worms.

[samplegirl]

41. Good!!

Not much of a commander!

[halfulglas]

42. Well, Bill Gates isn't going to track him!

He must have been under the impression that he was high enough up in rank to refuse it. And it's not like he can isolate. On a ship you're trapped. Like nothing would even get me on a cruise ship in the foreseeable future.

[bluestarone]

45. Good on this. Is there a 4 STAR GENERAL fired yet?

Did the 4 starer get HIS shots? Even if he did REMOVE HIM NOW!

[Paladin]

46. Good. Repeat as often as necessary. (nt)

[keithbvadu2]

47. Is he a Fox hero yet?

[Arazi]

52. Put in Capt Brett Crozier, unjustly fired by Trump from the Theodore Roosevelt in Covid early days