Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court granted Friday’s request from President Joe Biden for the Navy to decline to deploy SEALs or other special operation forces personnel refusing mandatory COVID-19 vaccine due to religious objections.

A federal judge had ruled that 26 Navy SEALs, and 9 other Special Operations Forces personnel, were eligible for a religious exemption from the vaccination requirement. This was under the U.S Constitution’s First Amendment. It protects freedom of expression of religion as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

“In this case, the district court, while no doubt well-intentioned, in effect inserted itself into the Navy’s chain of command, overriding military commanders’ professional military judgments,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion.

A 6-3-tolerian conservative court was split, with three conservative justices stating they would not have granted the request.

Justice Samuel Alito of the conservative Justice stated in a dissident opinion that the court did “a great injustice to Navy personnel” who were “appearingly treated shabbily.”

The refusal to take the vaccine was not a factor in the Texas-based U.S District Court Judge Reed O’Connor’s decision that could be cited by the Supreme Court.

Other than the SEALs and divers, nine other plaintiffs comprised of specialist naval craft crewmen, divers, bomb disposal experts, and others.

New Orleans’ 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request similar from Biden’s Administration.

O’Connor’s Jan.3 decision in favor the servicemembers is being challenged by O’Connor’s administration. In that ruling, the judge stated that they “losed religious liberty more than any harm coming to the Navy.”