Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) is demanding answers from the Department of Defense (DOD) after a flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, sickened more than 200 service members and left one trainee dead.
The Lackland base is where newly enlisted servicemembers gain basic military training, meaning both recruits and Air Force leaders share living quarters, dining areas and other large communal spaces. Now, over 200 service members have fallen ill and one trainee has died.
The outbreak comes just months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repealed the military’s annual flu vaccine mandate. Hegseth called the mandate “absurd” and “overreaching.”
“Under the disastrous Biden administration, this Pentagon waged an unrelenting war on our warriors on many fronts, including when it came to denying them simple medical autonomy and the freedom to express their religious convictions,” Hegseth said when he announced his decision in April.
Rep. Castro said it was “only a matter of time” before an outbreak occurred.
“It was a reckless decision that put troops in harm’s way and undermined our military readiness,” Rep. Castro said.
According to the New York Times, which was the first outlet to report the outbreak last week, only about 40% of Air Force trainees opted to get the vaccine after the new policy was issued. Since the outbreak, the Air Force is requiring all trainees at the base to get vaccinated.
But Rep. Castro is demanding the DOD present a full account of the outbreak and investigate the trainee’s death.
“For the wellbeing of our servicemembers and community, public health policies must be guided by science, not politics," Rep. Castro said.
