NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — The Coast Guard Academy is disenrolling seven cadets for failing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

A spokesperson for the New London, Connecticut, school told The Day newspaper Tuesday that the cadets’ requests for religious exemptions were denied and they were ordered to leave campus by Aug. 19.

A lawyer for the cadets called the removals “mean-spirited” and says academy officials could have waited for pending lawsuits challenging the military’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement to conclude.

The vaccinations were made mandatory in the military and its academies last year.

To date, about 5,700 military service members have been discharged for refusing to get vaccinated.