Stitt ordered Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, the newly appointed head of the Oklahoma National Guard, not to enforce the vaccine mandate. Mancino, who acknowledged it put him in an awkward situation, said that under state orders, his commander was the governor. But he also said that if the guard were called up under federal orders, called Title 10, he would enforce the vaccine requirement.

A defense official who briefed reporters on the issue said that members of a National Guard unit, even under state orders, called Title 32, are still required to meet federal mission requirements, including medical requirements such as vaccine mandates.

Guard members who refuse to get vaccinated risk losing their status in the National Guard and the federal pay that comes as part of training, drills and more.

Both Title 32 and Title 10 are paid for by the federal government, not the states.