‘Appalling’: Service Member Fired For Refusing Vax Forced To Pay Back Most Of Signing Bonus: Report

Amanda PrestigiacomoJanuary 24, 2023

The veteran claims that an Army soldier who refused to take the COVID vaccine was fired in 2012 has had to repay his signing bonus of thousands of dollars.

At the Biden administration’s direction, the Defense Department discharged more than 8,400 troops from the military, including some 3,300 Marines, 1,800 soldiers, 1,800 sailors, and 900 airmen who chose to decline the vaccine.

“I’ve deployed multiple times, and I feel like the last thing I had was selling leave days that I earned and was never able to take due to me being deployed or needing that time to prepare for the training cycle,” The service member told Fox News Digital. “I was about to enter a new world with no income, and that extra bit would have been a nice buffer in my rainy day fund to keep me afloat until I was able to find new employment.”

When he signed up for the U.S. Army, he was awarded a $7,000 bonus. He was later canned for refusing to receive the vaccine and was then notified by U.S. Military that $4,000 was due. This was a prorated amount of the bonus. To pay the debt, the veteran claimed that he had to sell 60 vacation days he didn’t use.

“The appalling treatment these individuals endured broke the trust that is owed to our citizens and our volunteers. America’s sons and daughters,” A statement was made by the Army member. “Until true efforts are made to establish trust, the recruiting and retention shortfalls will only continue. The individuals who make public statements that they are unsure what has contributed to the current recruiting and retention shortfalls need to take a look in the mirror; and perhaps they should resign for the betterment of our Nation.”

Another service member lashed out at the Department of Defense because it was not up to par “on reestablishing trust for wrongdoings,” Signing bonus payback “icing on the cake.”

The Daily Wire reached out the Department of Defense, but did not receive an immediate response.

The Pentagon finally lifted the coronavirus vaccine mandate that was placed on the U.S. Military in August 2021 after Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker (R-CA), forced the end of the program following the December passage by Congress of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Fox reported that Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense, signed an earlier memo to update records and remove letters de reprimand from troops who had received refusals to receive the vaccine.

The DOD is indicated It is not possible to pay back service members who have been fired. In the meantime, military recruitment is underway record low.

Brandon Drey contributed to the report.