In April 2026, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth changed military policy to make the flu vaccine voluntary for all military personnel, claiming that the mandatory flu vaccines “weaken our war-fighting capabilities.” Hegseth blamed “disastrous Biden policies” on vaccines as the problem.

Within weeks of Hegseth’s unscientific proclamation, recruits at Joint Base San Antonio (also known as Lackland AFB) in San Antonio, TX, began to get sick from the flu. Lackland AFB is the primary location for US Air Force recruit training. By June 24, 2026, 275 airmen and officers had been infected with the flu. Air Force officials confirmed that one recruit died on June 12 due to a “medical emergency,” although they did not specify if it was flu-related.

The Air Force confirmed a “localized influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training” at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, stating that medical personnel had implemented mitigation measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees.

Of course, if you have read what I’ve written many times, the correlation between Hegseth’s changes to military flu vaccine policy and the outbreak at Lackland AFB does not mean that Hegset caused it. However, all those recruits in proximity to one another would definitely allow the influenza virus to pass quickly from one person to another. And that’s how you get an outbreak.

That being said, the Department of Defense (I am not going to call it the Department of War) walked back the change in flu vaccine policy, and now recruits will receive the vaccine upon enlistment. Pentagon officials announced on June 24, 2026, that recruits for the Army, Navy, and Air Force will now be required to get flu vaccinations.

The military thoroughly vaccinates recruits to prevent diseases that could impact the readiness of its personnel. A sick soldier cannot defend the country.

A strong flu vaccine policy works

I have written about this many times, but the flu vaccine is safe and effective. And I have debunked many of the myths about the flu vaccine:

• The flu vaccine causes the flu. No.
• Only old people get the flu. No, all those recruits at Lackland AFB were presumably young and fit, and yet, they got hit by the flu.
• The flu isn’t a bad disease. No. The influenza virus, directly and indirectly, kills more than 20,000 people (depending on the circulating strain and year) and leads to the hospitalization of more than 200,000 in the US each year. Influenza is a nasty lung illness.
• The vaccine is worse than the disease. No.

Hegseth changed the flu vaccine policy for political reasons. Interestingly, he didn’t block all of the other vaccines required for the military.

These are the mandatory vaccinations that all service members are required to receive before initial entry or basic training:

• Adenovirus
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza
• Measles, mumps, rubella
• Meningococcal
• Poliovirus
• Tetanus-Diphtheria
• Varicella

Other vaccines administered depending on risk and occupation:

• Yellow fever
• Anthrax
• Haemophilus influenzae type B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Pneumococcal
• Rabies
• Smallpox
• Typhoid fever

He chose to make the flu vaccine optional, and an outbreak occurred. Then he reversed his decision within a couple of months because the military’s readiness was impacted.

Of course, the CDC recently moved the flu vaccine from its recommended list to something called “shared clinical decision-making.” I guess this is similar to what Hegseth did with the vaccine, making it “voluntary.”

I hope this anti-vaccine Pentagon crowd stops for now. And our soldiers, sailors, and airmen are safe from diseases that could reduce their readiness.

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