The Pentagon this week posted a notice from chief spokesman Sean Parnell to soldiers who were involuntarily dismissed or left on their own while refusing to take the required COVID-19 vaccination. Parnell said, "The door is open."
But since President Donald Trump earlier announced he wanted them back, few are taking the offer.
Military.com reported that the number of soldiers returning to service so far is hardly noticeable. Only about 100 out of about 8,700 affected soldiers have returned since Trump announced in January that they were welcome to rejoin the service.
Part of the issue may be a cumbersome process to verify how much back pay and benefits they lost, balanced against income they have earned since they left the service, to arrive at the amount they'll get on return. The report said, so far, only the Navy has spelled out details of the financial calculations involved in the process.
Trump signed an Executive Order in January setting the stage for the return of unvaccinated military personnel. "The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members. Further, the military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of the years of service given to our Nation, after failing to grant many of them an exemption that they should have received."
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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