Hegseth Aims To Reenlist Troops Booted Over Covid Shot Mandate

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum on Wednesday ordering additional guidance be provided to Pentagon officials to fast-track the reenlistment of troops forced out due to the service’s Biden-era Covid shot mandate.

“We’re doing everything we can, as quickly as we can, to reinstate those who were affected by that policy,” Hegseth said in a video message announcing the new directives.

The Wednesday memo directs the Pentagon’s under secretary for personnel and readiness “to provide additional guidance to the Military Department Review Boards concerning the review of requests from Service members and former Service members adversely impacted by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”

The goal of these new instructions, according to the directive, is to “facilitate, as appropriate, the removal of adverse actions based solely on refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine (or requesting a medical or religious/administrative accommodation), discharge upgrades for individuals involuntarily separated solely for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine whose service was characterized as less than fully honorable, and appropriate remedies for Service members who suffered a wide variety of other career setbacks resulting from their principled refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine.”

The “unfair, overbroad, and unnecessary” Covid jab mandate was announced by Biden Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in August 2021. While it was ultimately repealed following an act of Congress in early 2023, the damage was already done. More than 8,700 service members were effectively forced out of the military after forgoing the experimental shot.

Upon taking office, President Trump signed an executive order enabling service members discharged as a result of the Biden-era mandate to be reinstated, with the ability to “revert to their former rank and receive full back pay, benefits, bonus payments, or compensation.” Hegseth subsequently signed a memo in early February to expedite the president’s directive.

[Report: Trump Admin Ousts Official Who Shepherded Biden’s Military Covid Jab Mandate]

In his Wednesday video message, Hegseth acknowledged that the agency’s effort to reenlist discharged troops “hasn’t been perfect,” and noted that he and his team are “having an ongoing conversation with [these individuals] to get it right.” He also disclosed that the Pentagon is “working with the White House” on the matter.

“We want anyone impacted by that vaccine mandate back into the military — people of conscience, warriors of conscience — back in our formations,” Hegseth said.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell revealed earlier this month that the agency had begun the process of reaching out to these discharged troops, with a “deadline to pursue reinstatement” set for April 1, 2026. As of April 10, three affected active-duty Army soldiers had rejoined the service, according to the left-wing Associated Press.