Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced sweeping reforms to address the catastrophic fallout from the Biden administration’s unlawful COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Speaking with the conviction of a leader determined to rebuild trust, Hegseth outlined the Department of Defense’s (DOD) aggressive efforts to reinstate service members and veterans who were unfairly punished for standing by their principles.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported on military veterans’ concerns about a new Department of Defense reinstatement form, which they claim hides the truth about their forced separations during the COVID-19 vaccine mandate era.
They are being told that if they want back in, they must lie on paper and pretend they left the military of their own free will.
According to the form: “I, [name], attest I voluntarily separated from the (Air) (Space) Force or allowed my service to lapse rather than be vaccinated under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which was in effect from 24 August 2021 to 10 January 2023. My decision to separate was made freely and without coercion.”
The DoD’s response team immediately issued a statement, stating they’re “reviewing” the matter.
Read more:
In a video statement posted Wednesday, Hegseth offered an apology “for how it was done, and we want to fix it.”
Effective immediately, the Department of Defense is scrubbing the records of all troops who were punished for refusing the experimental jab—many of whom were discharged with less-than-honorable designations that tarnished their careers and cut off benefits.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth:
We’re back with more changes at DOD, and this time, an update on COVID-19 and reinstatement. We all know that the previous administration issued unlawful orders on mandatory vaccines—on an experimental vaccine, COVID-19. You know it, we know it.We’re doing everything we can, as quickly as we can, to reinstate those who were affected by that policy. It hasn’t been perfect, and we know that. We’re having an ongoing conversation with you to get it right, working with the White House as well.
We want anyone impacted by that vaccine mandate back into the military—people of conscience, warriors of conscience—back in our formations. We hear you, and we’re working to get updated guidance as quickly as possible. So here’s where we are on more guidance we’re providing right now.
In January, the President issued his executive order. We jumped right on it. In February, I directed the Department to take corrective action regarding this specific Department’s unfair, overbroad, and unnecessary COVID vaccine mandate. We apologize. Apologized then, apologize now for how it was done, and we want to fix it.
So today, I’m signing a memorandum that directs the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to provide additional guidance to the boards that are reviewing these cases—concerning the review of requests from service members and former service members adversely impacted by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The guidance also will facilitate the removal of adverse actions on service members solely for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, including discharge upgrades and less-than-fully-honorable discharges for individuals separated for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. We’re trying to scrub all that, clean all that up.
We’ll also facilitate appropriate remedies for service members who have suffered additional career setbacks resulting from the previous administration’s unlawful vaccine mandate. That original EO addresses the unfair, since-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed on warfighters during the previous administration.
We know how bad it was. You know how bad it was. And through this guidance—which I encourage you to check out directly, because it’s an update going even further than what we’ve done in the past—this memo is providing supplemental remedies for service members and veterans negatively impacted by the DOD’s defunct COVID-19 disease vaccine mandate.
So, more guidance here that we think is really important to getting this right, and we welcome you all back as quickly as possible.
WATCH:
Constitutional attorney and retired LTC Green Beret Ivan Raiklin issued a powerful statement following this announcement from Hegseth.
“Did you just say “illegal DOD jab mandate”? Boom. You caught my attention, sir. I’ve just upgraded your grade as Secretary of Defense to an A. You want to achieve an A-plus? Bring me in—recall me to active duty—and I will gladly, pro bono even, come in and lead the Nuremberg 2.0 trials,” said Raiklin.
“The first defendants that need to be addressed are Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley. Why? Because they conducted mutiny by removing—kicking out, like you said—8,700. And then the 10, almost 100,000 of us that left because we were not going to comply with the DOD jab mandate.”
— Ivan Raiklin (@IvanRaiklin) April 23, 2025
The post REDEMPTION FOR THE VACCINE-PURGED: Secretary Pete Hegseth Issues Powerful Reinstatement Order for Troops Removed by ‘Unlawful Experimental COVID-19 Jab Mandate’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.