FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Active-Duty Marine Corps Captain Who Refused COVID-19 Vaccine, Facing “General Discharge” Despite Being Diagnosed With PTSD

Joshua Jordan is the most recent case of prejudice against servicemembers who reject the COVID-19 vaccine, despite a successful career and a PTSD diagnosis. 

THE CITADEL – After a nearly 17-year exemplary career with meritorious promotions and meritorious career designation, Captain Joshua Jordan is one of approximately 3,000 Marines to be separated from his command because of the COVID-19 vaccine. After a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis in March 2022, Mr. Jordan’s Command filed paperwork to the Separation Authority indicating that he did have PTSD.  However, his paperwork was unexplainably altered to show that he did not have PTSD despite having a PTSD score that exceeds the threshold for diagnosis.

Instead of being processed for medical retirement that he is eligible for, he is now recommended for a General discharge after his Command denied his legitimate religious accommodation request for the COVID-19 vaccine. The Marine Corps has stated that 742 requests for an administrative or medical exemption have been approved while only 7 of 3,719 requests have been approved on religious grounds. This has demonstrated that Marines are being discriminated against and retaliated against for their religious beliefs when .0019 percent of requests are approved for religious beliefs.

“The discrimination that my client is facing for trying to obtain a religious accommodation for the COVID-19 vaccine is unconstitutional. He should not be removed from the service with a General discharge but rather an Honorable discharge for his successful career that has spanned almost 17 years,” said Chad Lennon, an associate with Tully Rinckey PLLC who is representing Capt. Jordan. “Unfortunately, he is one of the thousands of Marines who are being removed from the military service after not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, being diagnoses with PTSD, the diagnosis suddenly disappearing in apparently doctored records, and being recommended for a General discharge.”

Mr. Jordan is a highly decorated Marine Captain who has been promoted several times and earned nearly a dozen medals for his continued work and dedication to the Marine Corps. Captain Jordan spent his career in the service as a dedicated Marine and has received numerous professional recognitions including one Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal; four Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medals; eight Certificates of Commendation from the Marine Corps, Department of State, and the Army; and the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. His military career is being destroyed by a discriminatory Command that is blindly enforcing a policy that is destroying our nation’s military readiness.

For more information or to speak with Mr. Lennon via phone or videoconference, please contact Tiarnan Barrett at (518) 640-1225 or via email at tbarrett@tullylegal.com.

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Tully Rinckey PLLC is a multi-state, full-service law firm that bases its commitment to client service on developing an intimate knowledge of each client’s needs and objectives. Headquartered in Albany, New York, Tully Rinckey has 70 attorneys and offices located across New York State in Binghamton; Manhattan; Syracuse; Rochester; Saratoga Springs; and Buffalo, Austin and Houston, Texas, Washington, DC, and Ladera Ranch, California. The Firm handles a wide variety of legal matters including federal and private labor and employment law, real estate law, regulatory compliance and litigation, corporate law, military law, family and matrimonial law, trusts and estate law, immigration law and criminal law.