President Donald Trump is following through on his promise to reinstate service members who were kicked out of the military for refusing to comply with Covid-19 mandates.
Trump is signing an executive order directing the Department of Defense to bring back the affected service members and restore them to their prior rank.
“The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated,” reads a White House fact obtained by obtained by Fox News.
The fact sheet notes that over 8,000 troops were discharged because of their Covid-19 vaccination status from 2021-23 and only 43 returned after the Biden administration’s Department of Defense removed its vaccine mandate. It is unclear how many service members will rejoin the military now that Trump is in office and providing back pay.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many private and public institutions imposed requirements for employees to receive the vaccine, regardless of potential personal or religious exemptions.
Opponents of the vaccine mandates criticized their coerciveness and the potentially adverse side effects of the vaccines on people who are otherwise physically healthy. They were also skeptical of harsh Covid-19 lockdowns, school closures, and mask mandates, all of which had deleterious social and developmental effects.
Trump pledged during his inauguration speech to quickly reinstate the discharged troops. Newly confirmed Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth made a similar promise at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
“This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay,” Trump said.
“And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. It’s going to end immediately. Our armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies.”
Monday marks a full week since Trump returned to office for a second term after winning convincingly this past November over former vice president Kamala Harris. Trump got off to a quick start last week with a flurry of executive actions on illegal immigration, energy, DEI, the federal workforce, and other issues he campaigned on.
After a bruising confirmation process, Hegseth, a former Fox News host and decorated veteran, is prepared to prioritize the military’s rank-and-file and restore the Pentagon’s readiness for war fighting.
“The President gave us a clear mission: achieve Peace through Strength. We will do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence,” Hegseth said in an address to the armed forces.
“I have committed my life to warfighters and their families. Just as my fellow soldiers had my back on the battlefield, know that I will always have your back.”
Reprinted with permission from National Review by James Lynch.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Thank you President Trump!
God bless President Trump!!! And Pete Hegseth!! America is BACK!!!
The Vax was the kill and maim shot!!!
Thank you Mr. President.
Now it’s time for the private sector to do the same.
Good move, about time to correct this injustice.
This is a very smart policy to get our Military back to a more reasonable strength with the most competent people in a hurry!
Thank God this brave man was put in charge of the military!!! About time someone with common sense and the guts to go against the status quo. These big wigs on the Democratic side need to get the hell out of the way so that Pete can do what needs to be done to get our military back up to where it was when Biden took office and weakened our military.
Good for Hegseth. Those that were kicked out of the military due to the non-taking of the “Covid Vaccine”, needed to be reinstated with back pay. There was no need to fire them in the first place or take any disciplinary action against them.
I’m disappointed in this, In basic training at Ft Polk they gave us numerous shots to prepare for Vietnam. If I would have refused to take one I would have been charged with disobeying an order! I was trained that I had to follow orders or face charges! What happened to our military?
I support the decision… and here it comes… BUT: the military waives certain rights when they enlist, one is the right to refuse a lawful order. Its just like the huhbub for anthrax shots! People went to mast or adsep’d out too. You can argue the merits of the COVID shot (I have never accepted one either but I’m retired therefore cannot be ordered to!); there’s a difference between civilian & military. Suppose say 10% refuse to go into battle because of the risk of serious bodily harm or death. Are these the troops we need in the military?