Section 526 of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act states the Department of Defense shall consider reinstating an individual who refused the COVID-19 vaccination and was involuntarily separated from service for only that reason and no other reason. The separated member must have applied for an administrative or religious or medical exemption from receiving the vaccination between the dates of August 24, 2021 and February 24, 2023. The separated member must apply within two years of the date of separation.
On August 24, 2021 the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum ordering the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for all service members. On December 23, 2022, Section 525 of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act required the Secretary of Defense to rescind the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for service members within 30 days. Shortly thereafter, on December 29, 2022, the Army directed commanders to suspend separation actions for Soldiers refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. On January 10, 2023, the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum, in accordance with the 2023 NDAA, that rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The Secretary of the Army’s memo rescinding the requirement for mandatory vaccination was dated February 24, 2023; hence the dates used to bookend the affected period.
The COVID-19 vaccination was a political hot potato. It was the second vaccination in recent history that was mandated upon Armed Service members (the service member had no choice except to apply for exemption), the first being the vaccination for anthrax [AVIP] in 1998, which the House Committee on Government Reform called “unproven force protection” in House Report 106-556 dated April 3, 2000.
Similarly, the COVID-19 vaccination was mandated upon Armed Services members even though it had not been given full FDA approval for use. Over 8,000 service members were involuntarily separated from military service for choosing not to submit to mandatory inoculation.
The Department of Defense, since February 2023, has provided a path for those who were separated for this reason to appeal to the Board of Correction of Military Records for adjudication and possible re-entry into the military. This provision in Section 526 gives permission for the Secretary of Defense to reenlist this group of eligibles without having to go through the Board of Correction of Military Records adjudication process.
It is unknown how many of these eligible former service members will apply under this provision. Many believe the military broke trust with them by mandating their removal, which may have also included unfavorable actions like General Officer Letters of Reprimand or reductions in grade for failure to obey a direct order (from the Secretary of Defense to be vaccinated). Of the 8,000 service members who were involuntarily separated under this mandate, as of October 2023 only 43 people have reportedly rejoined the military.
— EANGUS National Office
