by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News November 26, 2023
Woefully short of its recruitment goals, the U.S. Army is now pleading with soldiers who were kicked out for refusing the Covid shot to rejoin.
The Army discharged 1,903 troops who chose not to get jabbed under the U.S. military’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate.
“Unvaccinated soldiers present a risk to the force and jeopardize readiness,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth warned in 2022, as the first soldiers were released.
With the Army 10,000 short of its recruitment goal, that risk has suddenly abated.
In a letter dated Nov. 7, Brig. Gen. Hope Rampy tells former Army members, “Individuals who desire to apply to return to service should contact their local … recruiter.”
According to the letter, a number of actions have been made in recent months under Wormuth’s leadership, including the removal of suspensions pertaining to troops who requested exemptions from the vax mandate.
The letter states that “former soldiers who were involuntarily separated for refusal to receive the vaccination can also request correction of their military records to reflect an honorable, voluntary separation from service.”
Records of soldiers still in the force are being corrected “to remove adverse actions stemming from requests for exemption from vaccination for COVID-19,” the letter states.
The Pentagon formally rescinded its Covid vaccine mandate on in January of this year after Republicans forced Team Biden to back down via yearly defense legislation negotiations.
According to an Army official, the troops separated under the order got the letter saying they could request correction of their military record. Around 210 have sought record adjustments.
Former Army Lt. Col. Bradley Miller was among those who got a letter. He told The Epoch Times that the offer was unsatisfactory.
Making it possible for troops to get their records corrected “on the surface sounds like it’s a good thing and maybe to some degree it is, but I think most former soldiers, myself included, just kind of feel like it’s just too little, too late,” Miller said.
Miller was relieved of duties in October 2021 and resigned just before reaching the 20-year milestone. Miller forfeited his pension for refusing the Covid injection.
“I never believed the vaccines would ever be safe or do what they were supposed to do. And as a leader, I definitely didn’t want to order my men, who could also be apprehensive, to take the vaccination,” Miller said, adding that he is considering submitting a correction to his records, but he’s not sure about applying to rejoin the force.
Members of Congress said unvaxxed soldiers never should have been penalized.
“We’re all glad to see the Army is reversing its persecution of soldiers who refused to get the Covid vaccine, but that doesn’t take away the damage this caused to our troops,” Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.
“The U.S. Army is sending a letter to troops who were discharged for refusing to take the jab, saying they can now apply to have their reasons for discharge changed,” Virginia Republican Rep. Ben Cline said. “What about reinstating them at rank and paying them with back pay?”
When the Pentagon rescinded its Covid jab mandate, it insisted it would not provide back pay to unvaxxed troops who were kicked out.
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