Except, around one-third of US service members have refused the jab. In July, between 60% and 70% of personnel were fully vaccinated - with the Navy being the most vaccinated and the Marines being the least, according to the Washington Post.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will follow through on his vow to mandate the shots once the FDA approves the vaccine, and will seek presidential approval to do so no later than mid-September, or immediately upon FDA licensure, or "whichever comes first," according to the Associated Press.

"Right now it's being framed as a readiness issue," said Katherine Kuzminski, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. "As we see in Afghanistan, there is certainly a need to rapidly deploy people, and they may or may not be going to places that have relatively high rates of vaccinations."

"Just from talking to soldiers, picking their brains, some of the things I've heard have been 'I don't know the long term effects' or 'I just don't know enough and it worries me,'" said Capt. Javon Starnes, stationed at Fort Bragg, NC.

"Me being a 24-year-old guy, I work out regularly, I think I'm pretty in shape," said on "The 18th Airborne Corps Podcast," appeaning with Starnes. "I think if I were to weight the risk, I think at this time it's not as much of a risk, it's not that significant to me."