WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — A recent U.S. Army initiative is being criticized as tone-deaf after numerous shipments of face coverings were rejected by Navajo Nation reservations nationwide and returned to sender, sources confirmed today.

The Army made multiple attempts to get the Navajo Nation leaders to accept unwelcome shipments of the masks, which officials said were critical in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. National Navajo leaders became suspicious after reports surfaced that reservations across the nation had received unusual and slightly-opened shipments of masks marked ‘courtesy of the U.S. Army.’

“The masks are unwarranted, unwelcome, and frankly, a little suspect,” said Jay Stalkingwolf, a spokesperson for the Navajo Nation. “We didn’t even order them. They just started arriving out of the blue so we sent the shipments back, but they kept re-sending them to us with no explanation.”

“We’re not falling for this again!” he added.