Marine Corporal Discharged over Refusal to Wear a Mask

[sarisataka]

Marine Corporal Discharged over Refusal to Wear a Mask

Marine Cpl. Whitney McHaffie refused to comply with a mask mandate and doesn't want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

A month after the Defense Department's mask mandate for unvaccinated troops went into effect, she was booted from the military, possibly making her the first service member to be forced out of the service for violating COVID-related rules.

McHaffie, who served at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, went viral on social media after appearing in a video with Josh Mandel, a former Ohio state treasurer who is currently in his second run for the Senate. The video, in which she tells her story of being swiftly booted from the Corps for disobeying the mask mandate, had more than 400,000 views as of Tuesday morning.

Vaccines are now mandatory for troops, but were not at the time of McHaffie's discharge. Despite that, the amateur MMA fighter and fifth-grade teacher in Ohio sought a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine that had not been resolved by the time of her discharge.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/08/31/marine-corporal-discharged-over-refusal-wear-mask.html

[relayerbob]

1. I didn't know death cults rated "religious exemptions"

Hope it was specified as a dishonorable discharge

[Hoyt]

2. These guys will eat bark off trees or kiss Drill Sgt's rear if told too, yet they won't wear a mask?

[Ohio Joe]

3. Done and gone...

Easy peasy, refuse and get fired.

[James48]

4. Refuse an order, and you clearly are not Marine material.

I’m sorry, but anybody who refuses an order is not Marines material. Got a religious objection? Comply until the objection is resolved. In some cases, religious objections could be deemed inconsistent with military service. It took years for religious accommodation for Siek headwear, for example. In the meantime, either obey the order, or ask for discharge.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Big Deal

She won't be missed.
She's already proving she won't follow orders or use common sense.
The marines don't need her.

[Grins]

6. Takes a while to make Corporal in the Marines...

…and she tossed all that and got - a general discharge? Not the same as an honorable discharge, and it will follow you forever.

[USAFRetired_Liberal]

8. What's your definition of awhile?

Because people make that rank in about 3 years. It’s actually a low rank and handed to people for just being able to breathe.

[Beachnutt]

11. And she will still get her benefits with a General under honorable

should have been a bad conduct discharge for not following orders

[USAFRetired_Liberal]

15. She misses out on a big one though

Post 9-11 GI Bill, but the other Big ones she gets to keep is free health care and VA disability payments.

[sarisataka]

13. The Marine Corps is a little different than other services

E-4 is not an automatic promotion. It requires merit (good performance reviews) and a leadership class must be taken.

While not a difficult rank to reach many choose to not make the effort and are out as 4-6 year Lance Corporals.

[USAFRetired_Liberal]

14. Wow

I didn’t not know that…figured it was an E-4 so the same…I know it’s considered a NCO rank unlike the Air Force so I should have known it was more difficult.

[tonedevil]

7. Oorah /nt

[gratuitous]

9. And now that she's been dismissed

She will find out that Josh Mandel has no further use for her. Try not to be surprised, Ms. McHaffie.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Maybe she wanted out, and this was the fastest way to do it. NT

[greenjar_01]

12. Was hoping for your thoughts in the OP

[sarisataka]

16. I believe the actions of the Marine Corps

Are entirely appropriate.

As indicated in a subthread above, a Marine Corporal is an NCO, a leader. It is not a good example for a leader to refuse to follow orders.

The Marine Corps also has a process called Request Mast where a grievance can be taken up the chain of command. It cannot be refusef to a Marine and potentially can end up on the desk of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. None of the articles I have read indicated the Corporal attempted to Request Mast.

The discharge is fair, assuming performance was otherwise acceptable. The lower discharges require a punitive action, i.e. Court Martial. A General discharge (under honorable conditions) does allow a few benefits but it does disqualify from the GI Bill.

[greenjar_01]

17. Missed the subthread

Ignore feature strikes again.

[denbot]

18. Bravo Zulu Marines, K & R

sarisataka, please cross this in the veterans group. Thank you.