On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the termination of the flu vaccine requirement for military personnel, stating it was necessary to “restore freedom.” As many have pointed out, this contradicts a 1777 decision made by future President George Washington, who mandated smallpox vaccination for all American soldiers to ensure the army of the newly formed United States remained fit to combat the British. Hegseth has disregarded this, and according to a well-known economistPaul Krugman, it not only reduces U.S. military preparedness, but is an act of “hypocrisy” intended to “undermine the integrity of the professional military” and “cultivate” the armed forces.
Krugman points out several problems with Hegseth’s choice.
First, the self-titled “Secretary of War” — whom Krugman refers to as a “bloodthirsty religious fanatic” who is “more at ease with fascism than with America’s foundational values” — is showing evident “hypocrisy.” On one side, Hegseth asserts the inalienable right to control “your body, your faith, and your convictions,” yet on the other, he has prohibited beards and suggested that soldiers and generals should lose weight because “it’s not a good appearance.”
But insisting that active-duty personnel get a vaccine that enhances their military performance and also safeguards their fellow soldiers from illness?” Krugman writes with sarcasm. “Tyranny!
And as Krugman points out, giving up some level of personal “freedom” has always been a natural part of military service. “When Americans choose to serve their country in uniform, they agree to temporarily set aside many of the freedoms enjoyed in civilian life,” he states. “They are required to wear uniforms, not casual clothing. They must eat the food provided by the Army or Navy. They must salute superiors and follow commands. In short, they must follow military discipline.”
However, Krugman is primarily focused on what he refers to as Hegseth’s efforts to “cultify” the military by “establishing a setting where professional integrity, military discipline, and historical tradition are undermined in support of Donald Trump’s personality cult.”
As Krugman describes, “Imagine these instructions as loyalty exams. Hegseth can express his fake worries about freedom while supporting the anti-science right. If you’re an officer focused on the well-being of your soldiers and speak up, you’re excluded. Bring up that the rule against beards is unreasonable and unfairly affects”black male soldiersWith a common skin condition, you are considered a weak and ineffective individual, and thus dismissed. If you are a general with essential skills and years of experience, but served under the Biden administration, you will be abruptly let go.
Krugman argues that “the logic behind Hegseth’s apparent insanity is to undermine the professionalism of the military through harmful and authoritarian actions that push out those…who adhere to their values. And this should worry every American.”
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