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The Pentagon is considering providing back pay to former service members who were discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine, now that the mandate has been repealed, according to a spokesperson.
The Defense Department formally rescinded the mandate in a memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, after lawmakers directed the Pentagon to do so in the annual defense policy bill that passed into law in December. The military had already stopped discharging troops who refused the shot.
Austin’s memo directed that no service members will be separated solely on the basis of refusing to get the Covid-19 shot if they “sought an accommodation on religious, administrative or medical grounds,” and that the military will remove any “adverse actions,” including letters of reprimand, stemming from their refusal.
The Pentagon is considering providing back pay to former service members who were discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine, now that the mandate has been repealed, according to a spokesperson.
The Defense Department formally rescinded the mandate in a memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, after lawmakers directed the Pentagon to do so in the annual defense policy bill that passed into law in December. The military had already stopped discharging troops who refused the shot.
Austin’s memo directed that no service members will be separated solely on the basis of refusing to get the Covid-19 shot if they “sought an accommodation on religious, administrative or medical grounds,” and that the military will remove any “adverse actions,” including letters of reprimand, stemming from their refusal.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/0...ndate-00077902