The Department of Defense will respond “appropriately” to a choice this week by the Oklahoma National Guard to rescind the Pentagon’s requirement for service members to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine.

Driving the information: “We are aware of the memo issued by the Oklahoma Adjutant General regarding COVID vaccination for Guardsmen and the governor’s letter requesting exemption. We will respond to the governor appropriately,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby instructed Axios in an announcement.

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“That said, Secretary Austin believes that a vaccinated force is a more ready force. That is why he has ordered mandatory vaccines for the total force, and that includes our National Guard, who contribute significantly to national missions at home and abroad,” Kirby added.

State of play: The Pentagon’s assertion comes after Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, who now oversees the Oklahoma National Guard, “rescinded” the requirement.

Mancino cited a written request from the governor to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking DOD to “immediately consider suspending the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for national guardsmen in Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is “awaiting an decision” from the Defense secretary, Mancino wrote within the memo dated Thursday

No negative administrative or legal action will be taken against Guardsmen who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine,” in accordance to the memo.

The large image: Mancino earlier this week was chosen by Stitt to substitute Gen. Michael Thompson, who had supported COVID-19 vaccinations and mentioned that members who don’t obtain the vaccine can be suggested on various choices.

Thompson instructed reporters on Thursday that he discovered he’d been relieved of responsibility through social media.

A spokesperson for Stitt, who has vocally opposed the vaccine requirement for Oklahoma National Guard members, instructed AP that Mancino’s rent was not due to the vaccination coverage.

“The governor had been exploring making a change for a number of months, and Thompson had submitted his resignation” in October to take impact in January, spokesperson Carly Atchison mentioned, per AP.

Thompson instructed the Tulsa World that the governor had requested him to resign in October however that they agreed he would stay in place till January.

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