Military Members Discharged Over COVID-19 Mandate to be Reinstated

Any veterans dismissed or who decided to leave the military based solely on a refusal to follow the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate will be reinstated to their former rank and receive full back pay, benefits, bonus payments, or compensation.  

It’s part of a White House executive order signed by President Trump in Late January.

Department of Defense COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Timeline

To get you caught up, I’d like to do a quick history of how we got to this point: 

• (August, 2021) Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the DoD mandated that all military personnel (active duty and National Guard and Reservists) receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Following the Mandate, DoD numbers suggested roughly 8,000 servicemembers were either dismissed or members specifically chose to leave and not reenlist due specifically to COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
• (January, 2023) The DoD Rescinded its COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

What does this executive order mean for me?

Well, on its surface, it means if you or your loved ones or friends were dismissed from the military solely based on not wanting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, then it appears you’ll be reinstated. 

There is some ambiguity in this order that hasn’t been expressly listed, but I will go over what it does say. 

Which office agency or office is in charge of this?

First, it says the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security will be in charge of this reinstatement process. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegeseth testified about following through with this issue during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, saying, “Not only will they be reinstated, they will receive an apology, back pay, and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine.” 

Note: The military only mandated the vaccine after it had received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It says the two cabinet members will report to the White House in 60 days to address their plans for implementing this order. 

What will I receive after being reinstated?

This is one of those sections where it’s important to look at what is being said and what isn’t being said. All we can go off is what the current orders say. I think it would be incorrect, and possibly even harmful, to extrapolate beyond. However, later in this article, I will conclude with the more dynamic or nuanced aspects of this process that could be a bit sticky. 

Note: Please keep these questions in the “What We Don’t Know” column below, and think of others you will need to follow up on with the DoD or VA. 

Topic	What We Know	What We Don’t Know
Rank	You’ll be reinstated at the rank you were discharged	– If any promotions will be applied – Will the years you were dismissed be added back to your pay classification (YoS)
Pay	You’ll get back pay for the wages you didn’t receive since being dismissed	– Rate of pay: how you will be compensated for the time you were dismissed – If this also includes BAH / BAS allowances – Rate of how it will be taxed – TSP contributions
Bonus Payments	Any bonuses you were likely supposed to receive	– Will allowances be included or labeled as “bonus payments” – Does this include a reenlistment bonus that would have been available had you stayed in during that time and remained serving
Benefits	You’ll receive benefits you had previously lost access to	– Will entitlement be retroactively added back to your status – Does this apply to possibly SCRA benefits that you missed out on because of the dismissal – Will this cover out-of-pocket expenses that would have been paid out either due to your military or entitlement status

As you can see, we learned a good amount from this order, but the complexity of this situation means this order may also lead to more important questions that need answering. 

The over-arching message is likely good if you were dismissed because of your COVID-19 vaccine stance. However, if you were severely disadvantaged financially due to that dismissal, it’s important to know that you may still be out of the money you were forced to pay. 

What won’t change with this order?

This order also addresses any disciplinary action or misconduct punishment you received for other things unrelated to the vaccine mandate. The short answer: you’re not getting that wiped away. 

Moving Forward

This news, for some, is a tectonic shift to their lifestyle. There could possibly be people who receive thousands of dollars, which can vastly change a family’s living situation. As mentioned above, both the Homeland Security and Defense Secretaries need to get together and work out a plan for this reinstatement process. Per the order, there is a deadline of 60 days to submit said plan to the President. That would mean before or on March 27, 2025.

Final Point

Finally, how much will all of this cost? Imagine back pay for 8,000 employees that involves allowances, retirement contributions, and bonuses. We’re possibly talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars per individual. 

Be sure to follow this situation with veteran.com because we want to bring you the latest on everything happening that affects benefits for veterans and their families.