Pentagon Reviews Records of Thousands Discharged for Refusing COVID Shot Mandate
- by Carolyn Hendler, JD
- Published
- Informed Consent
The Pentagon has ordered a review the records of 8,700 U.S. military service members who were discharged after they refused the COVID-19 shot mandated for every member of the military. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is requiring each department to reevaluate the records of troops to identify who was discharged for refusing to take the controversial shot. As many as 3,000 former solders could be restored to honorable status.1
The reviews, which officials must identify within 30 days and be completed within one year, will take place automatically and soldiers will not be required to take any action to further this objective.2
The COVID shot mandate was implemented in August 2021and rescinded in 2023. Secretary Hegseth made it clear during his confirmation hearings that military personnel who were discharged for failing to comply with the COVID shot mandate would be reinstated, along with provision of back pay and restoration of their ranks. Discharged service members may be able to pursue reinstatement up until April 2026.3 4
In February, Hegseth wrote in a memorandum:
As we celebrate those who return to service, it is important to recognize that others face continuing injustice. 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…Together, we will continue to right the wrongs of the past and restore confidence in, and honor to, our fighting force.5
Policy Guidance Overseen by Undersecretary
Undersecretary of War Anthony Tata has been tasked with providing policy guidance and directing staffing requirements to the Secretaries of the Military Departments.6 In January 2025, President Trump ordered the reinstatement of all military employees discharged for failing to take the COVID shots. However, as of November 2025, only 86 or less than one-tenth of one percent of military personnel were reinstated.
Undersecretary Tata said:
I tasked in no uncertain terms to the services that they will treat each of the members with the dignity that they deserve. There’s a lot of moving pieces, there’s a lot of good people working very hard on this,” Tata said. “We all understand the president’s executive order and the secretary’s directive, and we are moving out at full speed to welcome every single person that wants to come back from this disaffected community.7
While carrying out President Trump’s Executive Order has proved to be fraught with internal battles with the Pentagon and service branch bureaucrats, Hegseth and Tata remain committed to restoring the honor that the discharged service members deserve.
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