The Army Brief: Vaccine mandate; Stopping disinformation; War authorizations; and more...

Welcome to The Army Brief, a weekly look at the news and ideas shaping the service’s future. 

Vaccination policy released. Active duty soldiers must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 15 or face punishment and a discharge from the service, the Army announced Tuesday. National Guard and Reserve members have until June 30, 2022, to be fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, the Army has more than 426,000 soldiers fully vaccinated, according to the Pentagon.

AUSA requiring vaccinations. With the increase in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, the Army’s major conference is now requiring attendees to be fully vaccinated, with no exceptions.

Countering disinformation. The Army is working to disrupt disinformation online by trying to get inside a perpetrator’s OODA Loop—which stands for observe, orient, decide, act—when they see efforts to spread lies, Defense One reports. The U.S. evacuation operation in Afghanistan is a recent example where the military saw adversaries spread misinformation about the event on social media.

War authorizations outlasting their wars. The Congressional authorizations in 2001 and 2002 to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq are still on the books, but there are growing bipartisan efforts to finally repeal them, Defense One reports. The 2001 AUMF has been used as the authorization for 20 years of counterterrorism operations not just in Afghanistan, but also in other countries against ISIS.

Sign up to get The Army Brief every Friday morning from Caitlin M. Kenney, Defense One’s military services reporter. On this day in 1944, Operation Market Garden began, the largest airborne operation up to that point in the war.  The mini-series “Band of Brothers” depicts events from this operation. 

From Defense One

Milley’s China Calls During Trump Defeat Were ‘Lawful,’ Conveyed Reassurance, Pentagon Says // Tara Copp and Jacqueline Feldscher: Some Republicans are seeking his ouster, but the Joint Chiefs chairman is the first to serve a guaranteed four years.

How Equipment Left In Afghanistan Will Expose US Secrets // Patrick Tucker: Even rendered inoperable, equipment now in the hands of the Taliban will yield troves of information about how the U.S. builds weapons and uses them.

Congress’ Afghanistan Oversight Marred By Politics // Jacqueline Feldscher: Lawmakers overwhelmingly postured instead of asking America’s top diplomat real questions.