VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County Commission Stands Up for Medical Freedom of Tennessee Guardsmen

Approved Resolution 2022-47 Targets Arbitrary Biden Vaccine Mandate

When Captain Mickey Shelton signed up to serve in the Tennessee Army National Guard, he made a commitment to answer the call of duty to the state of Tennessee in times of crisis and natural disaster, and to defend the nation if deployed overseas. He never expected to fight his own government for medical freedom for himself and his fellow guardsmen; but that is exactly what he is doing.

All United States military personnel, including Tennessee Army National Guard, Tennessee Air National Guard, and Tennessee State Guard were ordered to take the experimental Covid-19 vaccine or be discharged from service. Shelton set out to change this policy and is now getting help from Jefferson County Commission.

Jefferson County Commissioner Austin Brooks (District 3) listened carefully to Shelton as he made a presentation at a recent town hall meeting in Jefferson County concerning his plight to protect his fellow guardsmen from the arbitrary and unnecessary vaccine mandate issued by the Biden administration, a mandate that is forcing hundreds of Tennessee guardsmen to leave service and compromising the strength of the force. Recruitment is also below par according to Shelton. Commissioner Brooks, along with two co-sponsoring county commissioners Marcus Reed (District 10) and Rob Blevins (District 6) proposed a formal county resolution calling on the Tennessee governor to:

  1. reinstate the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard members full benefits who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine; and

  1. publicly condemn the firings and non-pay status of Tennessee Army and Air National Guard members; and

  1. request that the Tennessee Attorney General coordinate a lawsuit and file an emergency injunction with other states against the Department of Defense and the Biden Administration for the unjustified vaccine mandate published by the U. S. Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin on August 24th, 2021. (Reference Title 32)

  1. issue salary payments to the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard members who are on a no-pay status relative to State Active Duty (SAD) orders for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine; and

  1. request the Tennessee Adjutant General, Major General Jeffery Holmes, to halt any further firings of Tennessee Army and Air National Guard members who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine, including those with medical or religious exemptions; and

  1. file a Request for Information and/or subpoena the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard for any documentation related to vaccination results within the state regarding vaccine injuries, guard member retention, and readiness of the force over the past 6 years and make public any findings thereof; and

  1. terminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the Tennessee State Guard, a volunteer state force that is not federally funded and cannot be federalized for any deployments.

Commissioner Brooks stated that he is “hopeful that other county and city legislative bodies will follow suit and make their own resolutions supporting the medical freedom of Tennessee Guardsmen.”

A PDF of the approved and signed Jefferson County Resolution 2022-47 is linked here.

David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level.

Source: Approved Resolution 2022-47 Targets Arbitrary Biden Vaccine Mandate