A Navy commander was recently fired over his refusal to be vaccinated or tested for coronavirus, the first incident made public of a naval officer facing punishment for going against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate.
Commander Lucian Kins was fired Friday evening as the executive officer of the USS Winston S. Churchill allegedly over declining to take the vaccine and then refusing to get tested for coronavirus.
A Navy spokesman could not confirm private medical details but said the Kins was relieved due to loss of confidence after failing to abide by a lawful order.
Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jason Fischer said in a statement:
On December 10, 2021, Commander, Naval Surface Squadron 14, Capt. Ken Anderson, relieved Cmdr. Lucian Kins as executive officer of USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) due to loss of confidence in Kins’ ability to perform his duties.
According to Fox News, Kins had applied for a religious exemption, which the Navy refused. He appealed that decision.
The Churchill’s plans and tactics officer, Lt. Cmdr. Han Yi, has taken Kins’s place until a permanent replacement is appointed. Kins has been reassigned to the staff of Naval Surface Squadron 14.
Kins, as the ship’s number-two officer, was on track to become the destroyer’s commander within a year and a half, according to Fox News. The ship (pictured above) is currently stationed in Mayport, Florida, in a 14-month maintenance period.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Kins graduated from the Naval Academy in 2004 and has served in the U.S. Navy for more than 17 years.
The Navy set a deadline for its active duty sailors to be fully vaccinated by November 28, and its reservists to be fully vaccinated by December 28. So far, 5,731 active duty sailors remain unvaccinated as of December 9, according to the Navy.
There have been 2,705 requests for religious exemptions from active-duty sailors; none have been approved. The Navy has approved seven permanent medical exemptions, 326 temporary medical exemptions, and 124 administrative exemptions.
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