While there is a growing wave in skepticism towards all vaccines within the Department of Defense after the illegal enforcement of the COVID-19 shot, a whistleblower has come forward to present information indicating that employees within Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have previously expressed similar doubts, especially regarding the flu vaccine.
The recent news stories of a Marine Corps officer, Air Force Major Brennan Schilperoort (whose pay has been restored), Army Sergeant Dan McGriff, (a pseudonym), and Air National Guard Technical Sergeant Tony Oslin reveal the Department of Defense’s current disdain for service members seeking religious accommodation or medical exemption for the flu shot.
Has VA been more forgiving with its employees, given that they are more frequently in contact with the elderly compared to the typical service member?
The Gateway Pundit spoke to whistleblower Sonny Fleeman, who emphasized his opinions are entirely his own and do not reflect the views of the United States Government, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any organization he is currently or has previously been associated with.
When Fleeman submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Veterans Affairs in February 2025, the agency was still requiring COVID-19 and flu shots for its healthcare employees.
“I wanted to see how many of those on the inside—the doctors, nurses, and staff who actually live with the consequences—were requesting exemptions,” he explained. “That number would reflect the real sentiment of healthcare workers rather than a tightly controlled narrative being sold to the public,” he suspected.
“To sharpen the comparison,” Fleeman also asked about flu shot exemptions, and “the results were shocking.” In 2024, close to 100,000 VA healthcare workers—approximately 25 percent of its total staff—were granted exemptions from the flu shot mandate for medical or religious reasons.
“That’s one in four employees across the largest healthcare system in the United States, and possibly the world, yet the VA still functioned,” he pointed out. For him, “The data shatters the military’s claim that mandates were ‘operationally necessary.’”
Hellbound and Down 