Service members separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine can now re-enlist, but the Department of Defense requires some to do the impossible first.
During a press briefing Tuesday, Tim Dill — the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness — outlined the plan for reinstating service members separated during the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate of August 2021, according to a news release from the DoD.
The secretary of defense rescinded the mandate in 2023, but by then, 8,700 service members had already lost their careers.
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reinstating said service members.
“Former service members … are now receiving letters of apology from the department in the mail, along with instructions on how they can pursue returning to service,” Dill said at the news conference.
It’s not nearly enough. They deserve so much more, plus a medal for fighting a domestic enemy.