Navy Apologizes to Former Service Members Discharged Over Vaccine Mandate
On Friday, the Department of the Navy issued a formal apology to former service members who were “unjustly discharged” due to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate under the Biden administration.
Vice Secretary of the Navy, Hung Kao, emphasized the commitment to “righting the wrongs of the past” and expressed a desire to welcome back veterans who lost their positions during the pandemic.
“To all the sailors and Marines who were wrongly discharged due to COVID-19, we have failed you,” Kao stated in a video shared on X. “We won’t let this happen again, not on my watch. We are prepared for your return and want to amend your records.”
Cao, who oversees about one million Navy, Marine, and civilian personnel, acknowledged the significant impact this mandate had on those affected.
“We are addressing this injustice, beginning with this formal letter of apology,” he added.
After resuming office last January, President Trump signed Executive Order 14184, which instructed federal agencies to identify military personnel impacted by past vaccination mandates and take measures to reinstate them or restore specific benefits.
This order pertains to former members of the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, Space Force, and Coast Guard who were discharged solely for declining the coronavirus vaccine.
The previous defense secretary mandated the vaccine for all military personnel in 2021, but that policy was overturned in 2023.
President Trump’s order noted, “The military has failed to provide the exemptions that many of those who have refused to receive the vaccine deserve, leading to wrongful discharges regardless of their service years.”
The Department of the Army has tasked heads of military departments to reach out to former military members regarding their potential reinstatement and to amend discharge records.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, over 8,000 service members were placed in quarantine after the Pentagon’s vaccination mandate was issued during the Biden administration.
Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth highlighted in a December memo that it is “unconscionable” that many veterans, who stood by their personal and religious convictions, were not only separated but did so under circumstances less than honorable. “While some have sought relief from military review boards, it’s our duty to rectify this,” he noted.
Hegseth mentioned that he has directed a review of personnel records to identify those who were involuntarily discharged simply for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and to facilitate appropriate discharge upgrades.
