The Navy has discharged 240 sailors for refusal to abide by the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the military branch said on Feb. 9. Of the discharged, all but one were active-duty. Twenty-two were discharged during their initial training periods, or within their first 180 days of active duty. The Navy mandated active-duty sailors be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Nov. 28, 2021. Reserve troops had until Dec. 28, 2021. The Navy started discharging sailors in January. Some sailors have been waiting on decisions on exemption requests from the mandate on religious or medical grounds. The Navy has received 3,348 religious exemption applications from active-duty troops alone but still has not granted a single religious exemption. Officials have granted 10 permanent medical exemptions, 250 temporary medical exemptions, and 50 administrative exemptions. Approximately 8,329 sailors remain unvaccinated as of Feb. 9, or about 2.4 percent of the force. Military lawyers say the …