Service Members Expelled Over COVID Vaccine Mandate Can Re-Enlist — But Face a Major Obstacle
Service members who were separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine are now eligible to rejoin the military — but there’s a significant barrier standing in their way.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Tim Dill, the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, laid out the Department of Defense's (DoD) new policy for reinstating those removed under the Biden administration’s 2021 vaccine mandate, according to a DoD news release.
While the vaccine mandate was rescinded in 2023, more than 8,700 service members had already been separated by that time.
In January, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reinstating these individuals. As Dill explained, "Former service members … are now receiving letters of apology from the department in the mail, along with instructions on how they can pursue returning to service."
Those who were involuntarily separated are eligible for back pay, while those who "voluntarily" separated will not receive compensation. However, all reinstated service members would return at the same rank and pay they held before separation.
The window to express interest in returning remains open until April 1, 2026, according to the DoD.
Following Trump's directive, military branches have begun contacting affected service members — but a "big catch" has surfaced.
Former members of the Air Force, Air National Guard, and Space Force must first sign a statement declaring that their separation was "voluntary" and that their "decision to separate was made freely and without coercion," according to Just the News.
This condition aligns with the language in Trump’s executive order, which specifies:
“Allow any service members who provide a written and sworn attestation that they voluntarily left the service or allowed their service to lapse according to appropriate procedures, rather than be vaccinated under the vaccine mandate, to return to service with no impact on their service status, rank, or pay.”
However, not everyone is on board.
R. Davis Younts, an attorney representing veterans affected by the mandate, told Just the News that several of his clients refuse to sign the required form.
"I talked to several clients who were forced out," Younts said. They "have no interest in signing the document" even though they would otherwise "gladly come back in." Many are not concerned with back pay, Younts added, but refuse to submit a "false statement" just to regain their positions.
Younts also expressed concern that the form might cause veterans to forfeit claims for promotions or back pay they rightfully earned.
"If I have clients who I believe have a legitimate claim to rectify an error in justice that occurred," he said — such as those denied promotions or reenlistments due to pending injunctions — "I’d have a hard time advising them to sign it," because it would mean "waiving a lot" of their rights.
Younts worries that the signing requirement could be a tactic to undermine the reinstatement effort.
"I’m optimistic that senior leadership and officials that I talked to at the Pentagon understand and are sympathetic to these concerns and want to address them," Younts said. However, he is witnessing "a level of malicious compliance" intended to "stop, slow roll, or make an effort to make reinstatement meaningless for most people impacted by COVID."