Service members dismissed from the military for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will be reinstated with full back pay and benefits under an executive order President Trump is expected to sign Monday.
The move makes good on a Trump campaign promise and is something he previewed during his inaugural address.
It’s part of a series of actions and orders the new administration has taken to undo many Biden policies he considered “woke.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also vowed to reinstate military members dismissed over the COVID-19 shot, saying during his confirmation hearing that those service members “will be apologized to. They will be reinstated, reinstituted with pay and rank.”
From August 2021 to January 2023, the Biden administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged over 8,000 troops over their refusal to get a mandated COVID-19 shot, with limited exceptions for medical issues or religious objections.
That number represented less than 1 percent of the total military strength, but the dismissals became a rallying cry for Republicans who accused Biden officials of hampering military readiness and religious discrimination.
The Pentagon allowed dismissed soldiers to reapply once the mandate was rescinded in 2023, but only 43 chose to do so, according to federal statistics.
Military members are required to receive more than a dozen vaccines as part of their normal onboarding process, but the COVID-19 vaccine became a flash point of controversy. The dismissals became a political headache for the Biden White House.
The previous Trump administration laid the groundwork for the vaccine to be developed and brought to market in record time through its Operation Warp Speed. The vaccine was only mandated by the military once it received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
