Navy won’t deploy warship after judge stops dismissal of its commander for refusing the coronavirus vaccine

[Tony]

WASHINGTON — Navy officers said they cannot deploy a Norfolk, Va.-based warship after a federal judge ruled the service commanders are prohibited from acting against the ship's captain for refusing the coronavirus vaccine despite their insistence they have lost faith in his ability to command.

The Navy commander, identified only by his rank in court papers, filed a lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida in October with several other service members seeking relief from the military’s coronavirus vaccine mandate on religious grounds.