Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on behalf of a 12-year Marine Corps officer who has been denied religious accommodations from annual inoculations and is subsequently facing punitive measures for holding to his religious convictions. According to the letter, the officer’s sincere religious accommodation requests (RAR) for the influenza vaccine and other shot mandates have been denied in virtually the same manner used in the blanket denials under the unlawful COVID-19 shot mandate that forced out more than 8,300 service members. Liberty Counsel requested a response by July 31, 2025.

In 2021, Liberty Counsel previously represented this same officer when it litigated against the Pentagon’s COVID-19 shot mandate and obtained multiple restraining orders and injunctions, including a class-wide injunction that led to the rescinding of the unconstitutional mandate. However, Liberty Counsel again requests the Department of Defense’s (DOD) intervention to “countermand egregious discrimination” still happening within the Marine Corps. As the letter states, the officer’s religious exemptions appeared to have been adjudicated under the same “sham process holdover” from the previous administration.

“No individual assessment was made then, and the same ‘process’ template and boilerplate denial language criticized by Judge Steven Merryday in the COVID preliminary injunction order is being utilized now for the Marine Corps’ blanket denials of the RARs submitted for other inoculations, including the Marine Corps’ most recent denial of [this officer’s] religious accommodation requests for exemption from the influenza and TDAP inoculation,” reads the letter.

Despite the officer’s regiment granting more than 50 medical exemptions to the influenza vaccine, and his commanding officer entrusting him to lead a company of Marines, the Marine Corps is still seeking his discharge. Former 1st Marine Logistic Group Commanding General, Brigadier General Andrew M. Niebel, recommended he be discharged with a general discharge “under honorable conditions” characterizing his performance as “substandard” and citing “misconduct” and “professional or moral dereliction of duty” even though the officer simply sought to continue his service consistent with his sincerely held religious beliefs. 

Since the punitive actions stem from the improper denial of his RAR, and his refusal to violate his religious convictions, Liberty Counsel states the Marine Corps is violating his religious free exercise rights under the Constitution and laws of the United States, as well as his rights under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

“This shows systemic problems that the services did not recognize or remedy after COVID,” wrote Liberty Counsel. “In other words, the policy and practice the branches in DOD are implementing is ‘we missed you the first time,’ but not today.”

Liberty Counsel is requesting that the Office of the Secretary of Defense require the Secretary of the Navy and Commandant of the Marine Corps to: 

1. “Unsubstantiate and void” the discriminatory recommendations for separation;

2. Rescind and remove all adverse paperwork and evaluations in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and Automated Performance Evaluation System (APES); 

3. Overturn the denial of Fiscal Year 2024 Special Selection Board and retroactively promote him to Captain, fully restoring losses to include backpay; and

4. Expedite acceptance into Professional Military Education in order for him to catch up with his peer group.

Liberty Counsel also informed Secretary Hegseth that there are other service members experiencing discrimination and facing separation, whose names and situations can be provided to the Office of the Secretary upon request.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Pentagon cannot repeat the costly mistake of forcing service members to choose between their religious convictions and their careers. Now more than ever, it is critical that the DOD retain qualified personnel and not lose them to the friendly fire of wrongfully denied religious accommodation requests, particularly where such denials result from an unfair and unlawful process. It is time for the military to commit to protecting the religious freedom and the rights of conscience of all service members within the military branches.”