SW Iowa Times

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds joined four other governors in a letter to the Department of Defense that requests that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for National Guard members be withdrawn.

The National Guard is under the command of the governor of each state until they are called into active duty, according to a release from the Iowa governor’s office. It's a notion that has been upheld by the Supreme Court in cases like Perpich v. Department of Defense. For this reason, Reynolds requested that the federal government “abide by the law” and allow her to give the National Guard members the choice to be vaccinated without being penalized.

“The federal government continues to overreach further into the lives of Americans and especially those serving our country and protecting our very freedoms,” Reynolds said. “These are the very men and women who have selflessly devoted their lives to protecting us and responding to major disasters and times of crisis at the drop of a hat to provide peace and comfort, and now the federal government is giving them an ultimatum to get the vaccine or be separated from serving their country.

"It’s unconscionable to think the government will go so far as to strip these honorable men and women of the nation’s top duties if they don’t comply," she said. "They protect the very freedoms that the federal government apparently doesn’t believe they too deserve.”  

The letter was addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin and was signed, along with Reynolds, by Govs. Mark Gordon of Wyoming, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Tate Reeves of Mississippi and Pete Rickets of Nebraska.

There are almost 50,000 military members across all branches who are refusing to be vaccinated, according to the release.

The deadline for National Guard members to be vaccinated was Dec. 2.