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The Department of War is giving service members who involuntarily separated for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine another year to apply for reinstatement.
“While I’m proud of our efforts over the past year, our obligations to make things right are not yet complete,” said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a video posted to X.
“The revised guidance will now apply to former service members, our warriors of conscience, who wish to return to service through April 1 of 2027,” he continued.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order making reinstatement available to service members discharged under the Pentagon’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Almost 8,000 personnel across the active and reserve components refused the vaccine, according to Pentagon figures.
Those discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine include 60 members in the Air National Guard, but no Army Guard Soldiers, National Guard Bureau officials said last year.
The department also will reduce the service commitment required to be reinstated from four to two years. Barring exceptions, this will apply to those who’ve returned under the four-year commitment.
The change to the length of the commitment “reflects our confidence that returning members make an immediate and positive impact, and it aligns our reinstatement policy with the needs of both the Service members and the Military Services,” the secretary wrote in a March 20 memorandum.
The service secretaries were also directed to recontact anyone who has not “rejoined already and inform them of this new information and this new opportunity” within 60 days of the March 20 memo.
In a Dec. 6, 2025, Hegseth instructed the service secretaries to conduct “a proactive review of personnel records, to identify individuals who were involuntarily discharged solely for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine and facilitate appropriate discharge upgrades.”
The Department of Air Force announced Thursday it had completed their review well ahead of the deadline.
The Air Force Review Boards Agency found 377 individuals were involuntarily discharged solely for declining the COVID-19 vaccination and an additional 218 involuntary discharge cases, or a total of 595 active-duty and Air Guardsmen, ranging in rank from Airman 1st class to master sergeant.
“This effort ensured individuals who met the eligibility requirements now receive the full amount of post-service benefits, such as a VA home loan and the post-9/11 GI Bill,” said a service release.
In February, the Coast Guard reinstated 56 members who were discharged because of their refusal to take the COVID vaccine.
—By Jennifer Hickey
