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| AP Photo/Michael Probst |
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News earlier this week said he will “continually review” how to bring back troops who were kicked out or left due to the Biden administration’s COVID vaccine mandate.
“The reality is that this never should have been done to these men and women. They never should have been forced out for an experimental vaccine. They never should have been denied religious exemptions. None of that should have happened,” Hegseth said in the interview Thursday.
“From President Trump to me on down, we recognized that for the wrong that it is, and we will explore even more formal ways to acknowledge that,” he added.
The acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness released a memo last week outlining the procedures for reinstating troops. The memo instructs the military services to directly contact those who were kicked out and make reinstatement available to them, and to publicly communicate to those who left voluntarily that they are welcome back if they present a written statement attesting they left due to the mandate and agree to at least two years of active-duty service.
However, some who fought the mandate while in uniform said the memo did not address lost promotions, courts-martial, or accountability for military leaders who had enforced the mandate.
Hegseth said he and his team will “continually review” the process to make sure troops are reinstated properly. --->READ MORE HERE
Over the course of 500 days, beginning in 2021, nearly 8,000 active duty and reserve service members were involuntarily separated from service for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Many others left voluntarily to avoid the vaccine mandate.
Now, the Defense Department plans to invite those service members back into uniform at the same rank they held when they separated.
President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27, 2025, regarding reinstating service members discharged under the department's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
As part of the executive order, active duty and reserve service members who were discharged solely for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may request reinstatement to their former rank.
The Defense Department rescinded the mandate to take the COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 10, 2023.
Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness to provide guidance to the military departments on how to proceed.
"This guidance will provide procedures to rapidly reinstate individuals who were involuntarily discharged or voluntarily left to avoid vaccination," Hegseth wrote.
That guidance, now in the hands of the military departments, details the efforts the service branches must take.
A large part of that effort involves records reviews: identifying service members who were involuntarily separated or voluntarily separated to avoid vaccination and then communicating with those service members to let them know they are invited back into service.
Service members involuntarily discharged, solely for their refusal to take the vaccine, will be contacted directly by their respective services, according to the guidance. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
Pentagon moves to take back troops booted for refusing COVID vaccine
UPMC reinstates mandatory masking at all of its hospitals, doctors offices. What to know
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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