(The Center Square) – Military service members discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, or who left because of the vaccine mandate, are eligible for reinstatement with full rank and back pay.
Fulfilling his inauguration speech promise, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday calling the Department of Defense’s 2021-2023 vaccine requirement “unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary.”
“[T]he military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of the years of service given to our Nation, after failing to grant many of them an exemption that they should have received,” the order reads. “Federal Government redress of any wrongful dismissals is overdue.”
The order applies to both active and reserve military members who were discharged solely for refusal to take the vaccine or who voluntarily left the service (or allowed their service to lapse) due to the mandate.
Members who left must provide a written and sworn attestation that they left due to the mandate to return to service without affecting rank and pay.
Praised by conservatives and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the president’s order followed on the heels of two other military-related executive orders that target race and gender initiatives implemented by the Biden administration.
The “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” order abolished all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices or programs within the Pentaon, claiming they “undermine leadership, merit, and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness,” a theme Hegseth has often invoked.
In the same vein, the “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” order directs the Defense secretary to issue updated directives ensuring that transgender service members meet all objective physical and mental fitness standards.
“It is the policy of the United States Government to establish high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,” the order reads.
“This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria. This policy is also inconsistent with shifting pronoun usage or use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s sex,” it adds.
Hegseth and others have promised that all of these measures will lead to a “recruiting renaissance” under Trump.
