DOW To Assessment Data Of Troops Fired Over Covid Shot Edict
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum ordering a reevaluation of discharge characterizations for service members removed from service for foregoing the Biden-era Covid shot mandate, the Pentagon revealed Tuesday.
Signed on Dec. 6, the new directive instructs the War Department to undertake a “proactive review of personnel records, to identify individuals who were involuntarily discharged solely for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine and facilitate appropriate discharge upgrades.” As The Federalist previously reported, more than 8,700 troops were effectively forced out of the military for opting not to get the experimental jab.
In his memo, Hegseth acknowledged the Pentagon’s ongoing efforts to reinstate members “who were involuntarily discharged or voluntarily left Military Service” as to avoid the “unfair, overbroad, and unnecessary” mandate. He further noted that “It is unconscionable that thousands of former Service members who held true to their personal and religious convictions were not just separated, but separated with General (Under Honorable Conditions), rather than Honorable, discharge characterizations.”
“While many have applied for and received relief from our Military Department review boards, I believe the onus is on us to make this right,” Hegseth wrote.
In addition to instructing the Pentagon to conduct the aforementioned review of personnel records, Hegseth has ordered the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata to “provide implementing policy and guidance and direct staffing requirements to the Secretaries of the Military Departments.” Under this edict, Tata “will issue directive guidance in this area, coordinated with the Secretaries of the Military Departments, outside the standard Department process … and with the authority to direct appropriate staffing and to amend this memorandum as required,” according to the memo.
“This authority,” Hegseth added, “may not be redelegated.”
[Report: Trump Admin Ousts Official Who Shepherded Biden’s Military Covid Jab Mandate]
The secretary’s memorandum came amid reporting by The Federalist’s Joy Pullmann about bureaucratic resistance to quickly implementing orders by President Trump and Hegseth to reinstate members affected by the Biden-era mandate. While the numbers “change frequently,” the War Department confirmed to The Federalist last month that, as of Nov. 15, “86 soldiers have been reinstated so far, out of 617 who have applied, for a total of 14 percent reinstatements so far,” Pullmann reported.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood