The Military Vaccine Mandate Has Been Overturned, but Unvaccinated Troops Still Risk Reprisal

While the Biden administration has officially reversed the military COVID-19 vaccination mandate, servicemembers who escaped discharge for refusing the vaccine still risk retaliation and could be booted anyway, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Ongoing class action lawsuits thwarted the military’s efforts to discharge thousands of troops who objected to the mandate before the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law Friday, overturned it. However, servicemembers may risk reprisal even after the deadline passes for the Department of Defense (DOD) to implement the repeal, staining the records of thousands of servicemembers for the remainder of their careers, experts explained to the DCNF.

“There’s nothing to repair what’s already happened. There’s nothing to address the improper handling of medical exemptions, the violations for Religious Freedom Restoration Act and what the future looks like, whether it’s for religious reasons or other reasons,” R. Davis Younts, a military defense attorney, told the DCNF.

Potentially thousands of unvaccinated servicemembers — those denied medical or religious exemptions or wanted to challenge the order — were issued formal letters of reprimand, Younts said, including seven of his own clients. A permanently filed reprimand can suppress opportunities for members of the armed forces to reenlist or be promoted, and may constitute a basis for discharge. (Read more from “The Military Vaccine Mandate Has Been Overturned, but Unvaccinated Troops Still Risk Reprisal” HERE)

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