The mountain of covid policy regrets continues to grow.
Legal Insurrection chronicled the shameful discharge of military service members who refused to take the covid vaccine, despite ample evidence at the time the shot did not prevent the disease or stop the transmission of the novel coronavirus. Biden decided to virtue-signal with a vaccine mandate, and the Secretary of Defense was happy to oblige:
All together, over 8,000 military service members were booted for not getting the covid vaccination. The mandate was rescinded by the Department of Defense in January of this year. Guess how many men and women returned to duty after their vaccine discharge.
Only 43 of the more than 8,000 US service members who were discharged from the military for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 have sought to rejoin eight months after the vaccine mandate was officially repealed, according to data provided by the military branches…[S]ince the repeal, only 19 soldiers have rejoined the Army, while 12 have returned to the Marines, according to service spokespeople. The numbers are even smaller for the Air Force and Navy, where only one and two have rejoined, respectively, the services said.
None of the military service branches are hitting their recruitment goals, which inspired a policy change to increase the recruitment ages.
Additionally, the Army recently sent out a letter pleading with discharged personnel to return.
Nearly a year after Congress forced the Pentagon to rescind its mandate requiring all troops to receive the coronavirus vaccine, 19 soldiers have rejoined the Army after they were discharged for refusing the shot, The Post has exclusively learned.The news comes after the service sent a letter earlier this month inviting former soldiers who declined the jab to apply to rejoin as the military faces recruitment challenges.Last week, the service notified vaccine-related discharged soldiers they could contact their local recruitment office for information on reapplying to the Army.“As part of the overall COVID mandate rescission process mandated by Congress, the Army this month mailed the letters to approximately 1,900 individuals who had previously been separated,” Army spokesman Bryce Dubee told The Post.
The Air Force has also sent out its own plea to the covid-discharged.
A former Air Force service member who was separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine received the letter Sunday addressed with the recipient’s name, according to a source familiar with the matter. The letter tells former airmen they can request to have their service records amended to show that they received honorable discharges and seek reentry into the service amidst the service’s failure to meet recruiting goals.“Our records indicate you separated from military service as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the Armed Forces, which was rescinded by the Secretary of Defense on January 10, 2023 and by the Secretary of the Air Force on January 23, 2023,” the letter reads. “Should you desire to request consideration of a correction to your personnel records, including records regarding the characterization of your discharge, you may submit a request to the Air Force Discharge Review Board or the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records.”The letter then recommended Air Force veterans wishing to rejoin the active service to contact a local recruiter.
The Biden administration’s treatment of those serving our country in the military has been contemptible. I suspect the vast majority of these letters will be ignored, and the struggle to recruit men and women willing to serve a woke bureaucracy with virtue signalling, social justice, eco-activist priorities will continue.
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