Posted on Tuesday, January 28, 2025
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by Outside Contributor
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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.
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