Objections to the COVID-19 Shot, Transgenderism, and Drag Queen Story Hour Got a Service Member Booted from the Navy…and the Door to Return Remains Closed

Service members are facing many obstacles as they try to return to military service. Some continue to be excluded for administrative reasons and more.

The Gateway Pundit spoke to former Petty Officer Gerardo Mares, who has a related story. He proudly served in the U.S. Navy about two weeks shy of four years. In August 2021, the intelligence specialist was one of only about 150 service members at his command who took objection to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s now-rescinded COVID-19 military shot mandate.

Approximately one week before beginning the separation process for his refusal, in April 2022, a federal injunction went into place that barred the Navy from separating sailors who applied for religious waivers to the so-called vaccine.

While he was very thankful to continue serving the country, his struggle against “big Navy” did not end. According to him, sometime between January and June 2023, he was surveilled by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) for sharing his own personal objections to “the vaccination, transgenderism, and drag queen story hours” on social media.

After surviving the coercion and harassment surrounding the shot, Mares said he now faced allegations of “extremism and supremacy.” Despite having an approved Christmas leave set to begin on December 13, 2023, he said he was blindsided by a 10-day notice of separation on December 11, 2023, for nothing more than publicly sharing his personal opinion on social media.

Mares claimed that no one had asked him to stop posting comments prior to this. For him, “[The notice to separate him] was a spit in the face.”

“I was separated on January 5, 2024,” he shared, likening the time between December 11 and early January as “political detainment.”

The 10-day notice of separation had bound him to a 50-mile radius of his duty station in Washington, D.C. “Two days before I was set to go and visit my family for Christmas, I was held for my opinions [being posted to social media].” And for him, “This was strategic. They wanted me to spend the holidays alone.”

While Mares overcame their “attempts to destroy [him],” he did receive a general discharge with misconduct of a serious offense. “Because of this, it will be impossible to get reinstated,” he pointed out.

“Requiring [service members] to take the vaccine was an illegal order, [yet] because I posted about being unvaxxed along with some other right-leaning stuff on my social media, I get kicked out,” Mares lamented.

Was his separation from the Navy ever really about what he posted to social media, or was it retaliation for refusing the shot?

For him, the Department of Defense must admit the “vaccine” was enforced illegally. Specifically, 10 USC §1107a codifies that service members must have the right to informed consent, which was never provided to them. It can also be argued that, according to 21 USC § 360bbb, EUA products can only be used when there is no other approved drug available.

“Both President [Donald] Trump and the Department of Defense have to take a hard look at what’s preventing service members from myself from rejoining the military,” Mares offered.

“Many of us would like to return, but there’s really not much guidance to get us—especially those with conservative thought—back in if we have bad marks on our record for refusing the shot and more.”

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