Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., along with 16 other congressmen, sent a letter to Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan on Monday regarding the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. Coast Guard members.

“Service members that have not obtained a COVID-19 vaccine risk an involuntary administrative separation. This policy has resulted in hundreds of service members from all branches getting involuntarily discharged,” the letter said.

The letter also noted Biden’s phone call with Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Zach Loesch last month and commended Loesch’s efforts during Hurricane Ian. Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Hooper was also on the call.

Loesch, who reportedly saved a 94-year-old wheelchair-bound woman and her husband by kicking through a wall and then hoisting them into a helicopter, is set to be discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard because he did not get the COVID-19 vaccine. He had sought and was denied a religious exemption.

“Petty Officer Second Class Zach Loesch is an American hero, and he deserves to be treated as such. Due to the vaccine mandate, his rescue mission responding to Hurricane Ian may be his last, as he is set to be involuntary discharged in 30 to 60 days,” Boebert told The Daily Signal in a statement.

“The federal government’s failure to respect religious freedom and allow these exemptions is causing the military to lose talented individuals like Petty Officer Loesch,” Boebert added. “It’s time to end these mandates and support our troops’ religious freedom!”

The U.S. Coast Guard has received more than 1,200 religious exemption requests but has approved only 12, the letter said. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas; Dan Bishop, R-N.C.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; and Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., among others, also signed the letter.

Loesch has also spoken out about the vaccine mandate and its impact on his job, which he said he feels he was “born to do.”

“If I had asked any of the people I saved yesterday if they wanted to come with me even though I am unvaccinated, every single one of them would have said ‘yes,’” Loesch said.

“It just sucks that [Biden] thanked me yet the vaccine mandate is what’s kicking me out. I just love my job, and I’m really good at it. It sucks. I feel like this is the job that I was born to do,” he added.

Nearly 20,000 service members are set to be discharged over the next few months due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Fox News reported. Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic was over during an interview with CBS last month.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Boebert-Letter

Article cross-posted from Daily Signal.

Unfortunately for Biden the hero in question, Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Zach Loesch, the call only highlighted a disturbing policy still being pushed by the regime. Loesch is going to be booted from the Coast Guard soon because he won’t abide by the vaccine mandate.

"If I had asked any of the people I saved yesterday if they wanted to come with me even though I am unvaccinated, every single one of them would have said 'yes.'"

"It just sucks that he thanked me yet his vaccine mandate is what's kicking me out."

— Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) October 1, 2022

According to Breitbart:

The White House publicized the call in a press release and Biden himself bragged about calling him.

“I told him how proud of him I was and thanked him for all the work he and his Coasties are doing to save lives,” Biden said of his call to Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Zach Loesch.

The White House press release said he thanked Loesch and Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hooper “for the heroic work that they and their Coast Guard colleagues have performed during search and rescue operations in response to Hurricane Ian.”

“The President thanked them for saving lives and asked for a report on the work that continues to rescue Floridians. He also asked if they needed any additional support that he can provide to accelerate successful rescues; they indicated they have gotten what they need to execute their vital mission,” it said.

Despite Biden thanking Loesch for saving people’s lives, Loesch is due to be kicked out from the Coast Guard in 30-60 days due to Biden’s own mandate that all members of the United States Armed Forces be fully vaccinated, Loesch told Breitbart News on Saturday.

Loesch had submitted a request for religious accommodation, as well as an appeal, but both were denied, according to Loesch.

“If I had asked any of the people I saved yesterday if they wanted to come with me even though I am unvaccinated, every single one of them would have said ‘yes,’” he said.

Loesch personally pulled out a disabled woman and her husband who were trapped in their back bedroom with a couch jammed in the doorway. He kicked through a wall in order to free them.

From first responders to doctors and nurses to military personnel, there are heroes working hard every day to save lives. Their reward: Get the jab or lose your job. At least Zach Loesch got a call from a dementia patient before he gets booted.