Prayers for you, npeachmint. I don't know anything about DOD culture, but at my place of work intent weights heavily on employee sanctions. So, if confronted by HR, a response #1 below (momentary lapser, mitigating circumstances, recommitment to compliance) would, get you a slap on the wrist, while #2 (willful non-compliance) would get you full sanctions.
1: "OMG, I'm so sorry. I know how important the rules are. It's just that covid has me so worn down right now that I just feel so suffocated. I'll do a better job going forward because I would never forgive myself if someone got sick."
2: "We all know that masks are pandemic theater. The rest of the sheep can wear them, but I won't."
If this isn't a hill you can afford to die on - don't.
Prayers for you, npeachmint. I don't know anything about DOD culture, but at my place of work intent weights heavily on employee sanctions. So, if confronted by HR, a response #1 below (momentary lapser, mitigating circumstances, recommitment to compliance) would, get you a slap on the wrist, while #2 (willful non-compliance) would get you full sanctions.
1: "OMG, I'm so sorry. I know how important the rules are. It's just that covid has me so worn down right now that I just feel so suffocated. I'll do a better job going forward because I would never forgive myself if someone got sick."
2: "We all know that masks are pandemic theater. The rest of the sheep can wear them, but I won't."
If this isn't a hill you can afford to die on - don't.