Military members discharged for not getting Covid vaccine can now be reinstated with full benefits

Some soldiers can be reinstated
with full rank and pay. (Unsplash image)

More than 8,000 military troops were discharged between 2021 and 2023 due to “their refusal to get a mandated Covid-19 shot,” reports Nathaniel Weixel for The Hill. However, those discharged soldiers may be eligible to be reinstated to their full former rank and receive full back pay, benefits, bonuses or other compensation, according to a January White House executive order.

The order made it clear that it would only apply to soldiers who request to be reinstated.

Weixel reported, “The Pentagon allowed dismissed soldiers to reapply once the mandate was rescinded in 2023, but only 43 chose to do so, according to federal statistics.”

In 2021, the Department of Defense added Covid-19 vaccines to the list of required vaccinations for its enlisted members.

Despite the vaccine's endorsement from the Food and Drug Administration, many military members voiced concern and confusion about the vaccine -- particularly its use of new mRNA technology -- and refused to receive it.

The executive order said it would allow “service members who provide a written and sworn attestation that they voluntarily left the service or allowed their service to lapse according to appropriate procedures, rather than be vaccinated under the vaccine mandate, to return to service with no impact on their service status, rank, or pay.”