A senior Florida House Republican condemns the COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed on the country’s armed forces by the Biden administration — just before politics decommissions a Coast Guard hero.
Zach Loesch, second-class aviation survival technician, has been publicly thanked by President Joe Biden for his Hurricane Ian exploits in the Sunshine State, but will soon be suddenly off-duty from among the thousands of service members because they don’t both have COVID-19 shots .
GOP Rep. Mike Waltz (Fla.-06) told on Sunday that the Loesch case “underscores how destructive” the Biden administration’s vaccination policy has been for the US military.
He warned that the mandate could erode the country’s ability to respond to future crises like Hurricane Ian and further exacerbate worrying military shortages.
“This will impair our ability to respond effectively to the next natural disaster unless the Biden administration reverses course. We need more soldiers like Zach Loesch risking their lives to save others – not fewer,” Waltz said.
“And given the current military recruitment crisis, those skills will be extremely difficult to replace.”
Waltz, a former Green Beret, has led several efforts to urge Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to drop the military’s vaccination mandate.
The Coast Guard, while part of the armed forces, is technically under the Department of Homeland Security.
Loesch had informed Brietbart that he had applied for a religious exception, but that this had not yet been granted.
In a press release, Biden expressed his gratitude to the Coast Guard lifeguard: “I have told him how proud I am of him and thanked him for all the work he and his Coasties are doing to save lives,” reads in the explanation.
GOP House Representative Mike Waltz told on Sunday that the case of Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Zach Loesch “underscores how destructive” the Biden administration’s vaccination policy has been for the US military
As of September 2022, there are 2,632 unvaccinated US Coast Guard members.
The military branch with the most unvaccinated members is the US Marine Corps with 8,913, followed by the Air Force with 3,955, then the Navy with 2,623, the branch with the least unvaccinated members is the US Army with 1,337.
Loesch worked with Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hooper in his rescue.
The statement thanked the couple “for the heroic work she and her Coast Guard colleagues did during search and rescue operations in response to Hurricane Ian.”
The publication continued, “The President thanked them for saving lives and requested a report on the work that continues to save Floridians.”
“He also asked if they needed any additional support that he could provide to expedite successful rescue operations. They stated that they have been given what they need to carry out their vital mission,” the statement concluded.
The military branch with the most unvaccinated members is the US Marine Corps with 8,913, followed by the Air Force with 3,955, then the Navy with 2,623, the branch with the least unvaccinated members is the US Army with 1,337
Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Zach Loesch spoke to President Joe Biden on the phone Saturday
In a press release, Biden said of Loesch, “I told him how proud I am of him and thanked him for all the work he and his Coasties are doing to save lives.”
After the conversation, Loesch Breitbart said in an interview that he should be fired from the Coast Guard because of his vaccination attitude
After the conversation, Loesch Breitbart said in an interview that he should be dismissed from the service because of his vaccination attitude.
He said: “If I had asked any of the people I rescued yesterday if they would like to come with me even though I am not vaccinated, every single one of them would have said ‘yes’.
Loesch also said he filed a religious exemption. Religious exceptions are typically made in the military to the use of fetal tissue in the vaccine.
Despite this, even Pope Francis has endorsed the Covid-19 vaccine.
So far, most of the soldiers who involuntarily left the service because of the vaccination have received a general discharge.
This means they are still eligible for benefits and can rejoin the military if they get the vaccine, according to the Military Times.
In December 2021, the Biden administration mandated that military personnel be vaccinated against Covid-19
In his phone call with Biden, Loesch said he didn’t see it as appropriate to bring up his imminent firing
In his phone call with Biden, Loesch said he didn’t see it as appropriate to bring up his imminent firing.
He said: “It just sucks that he thanked me but the vaccination mandate is what kicks me out.”
Loesch added: “I just love my job and I’m really good at it. It sucks. I feel like this is the job I was born to do.
In addition to his military career, Loesch is an avid disc golfer. He is ranked 971st in the United States according to his official profile on the Professional Disc Golf Association website and resides in Dunedin, Florida.
On his Instagram page, he describes himself as “USCG Helicopter Rescue Swimmer” and “Proud Husband”.
In the rescue, Loesch rescued a disabled woman and her husband from a bedroom in their home where they were trapped. The lifeguard had to kick a wall to get to the couple.
From there, Loesch said he strapped the woman and her wheelchair to his body and hoisted them to a waiting helicopter. He also saved the lives of several pets in the area.
In August, the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, expelled seven cadets for failing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate after their requests for religious exemptions were denied.
The cadets, whose names were not released, were required to be off campus by August 19.
An attorney representing the cadets, Michael Rose, said the youths were threatened with being removed from campus by armed guards if they did not leave campus by August 19.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year made the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for military personnel, including those in military academies, saying the vaccine is critical to maintaining military preparedness and the health of armed forces.
Several lawsuits challenge that mandate, including two in South Carolina and Texas involving some of the Coast Guard Academy cadets that Rose represents, as well as cadets from other academies.
Military services had different time limits for their forces, and the Army National Guard had the longest time to get the shots, mainly because it’s a large force of about 330,000 troops scattered widely across the country, many of them on remote places.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps are 97 percent or more vaccinated and the Air Guard is about 94 percent. Around 90 percent of Army Reserve forces were partially or fully vaccinated.