Baby Come Back: United States Army Wants Soldiers Dismissed Over COVID-19 Vaccine to Rejoin
The U.S. Army has a major case of the takesies-backsies. After giving soldiers who refused the COVID-19 vaccine the boot, the Army is now asking said soldiers to COME BACK.
Why? Because they suck at recruiting, falling short of their goal by 15,000 soldiers; only recruiting 45,000 with the goal of 60,000 in 2022.
It isn’t like we’re on the brink of WWIII or anything, so it should be fine.
The US Army is having such a difficult time recruiting that it’s sending soldiers who were kicked out for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 instructions on how to rejoin.
The Army sent the letters to about 1,900 active-duty soldiers who were separated for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the military blog Task and Purpose. Bryce Dubee, an Army spokesperson, told the blog that the letters were sent “specifically as part of the COVID mandate recession process.”
A January 2023 Department of Defense memo rescinded the military rules that required service members to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which the department put in place in August and November 2021. The memo said that no one serving in the armed forces will be separated for refusing to take the vaccine if they seek a religious, administrative, or medical accommodation.
Still, the memo said that the department will continue to “promote and encourage” vaccination for all service members.
As someone who also received a lot of pressure to get vaccinated for my job (against my will), this sort of thing makes my blood boil. One second these soldiers were considered a human petri dish, too dirty to serve our country unless they got the jab. The next second they’re suddenly valuable assets again and the COVID-19 vaccine isn’t a big deal.
Make. It. Make. Sense.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth told the outlet that the percentage of young Americans who are physically fit and mentally prepared enough to join the military has been shrinking over time and is now at about 23% of people between the ages of 18 and 24.
Lovely. So only 23% of the population is even fit to serve in the first place, and our government is so dense they thought it was a good idea to kick soldiers out over an experimental vaccine.
The government played a giant game of chicken, and they lost.
My inner troll wants these soldiers to tell the recruiters to shove their offer where the sun doesn’t shine. But I also want us to have a strong military. #Conflicted.
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3 Comments
If it were me, I would demand back pay for the time between my discharge and when I re-enlisted, along with at least one meritorious promotion. If they refused, I would use some “colorful metaphors” to encourage them to go pound sand.
Call me crazy, but if they know who these soldiers are, because they are reaching out through letters, maybe don’t make the soldiers you admit you wronged jump through hoops you set up to clear up their records and change their discharge status? This should be an automatic thing. They should be reaching out to tell soldiers that their discharge status is changed to honorable, and how they can get updated copies of their DD214s. Like I said: Call me crazy.
Oh, and insult to injury? They are now CHARGING soldiers for equipment that they were ORDERED to leave in Afghanistan. The soldiers, at the time, expressed their concern that they’d be charged but were told that their leadership “had their backs.” Now, they are attempting to leave the Army or PCS, and since they cannot turn the equipment back in, the Army wants $500-1000. I’m hoping this is just some low-ranking equipment keeper following orders without knowing the background. I’m hoping that these guys can get in touch with those that issued the orders in Afghanistan and won’t have to pay. I am not holding my breath.