Military readiness is no accident. I saw this firsthand as a combat-decorated U.S. Army special forces veteran, and later as the 17th U.S. surgeon general. Readiness is built on discipline, leadership, and adherence to evidence-based practices that protect the force and ensure mission success. Today, unfortunately, the Pentagon is adopting proposals to make prevention — particularly vaccination — optional. This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of military readiness and force protection. In combat, we learned quickly that preventable threats degrade a unit just as effectively if they come from disease as if they come from enemy fire. The mission demands that we mitigate risk wherever possible using every available evidence-based tool. Recently, public health policy has been challenged in ways that distort the reality of what prevention achieves. That distorted reality should generate better communication, better education, and better leadership — not abandonment of proven, evidence-based measures.…