Navy apologizes to personnel ‘unjustly removed’ over COVID vaccine mandate

The Division of the Navy on Friday wrote an apology letter to former army personnel who have been “wrongfully” faraway from service over the COVID vaccine mandate in the course of the Biden administration.

Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao emphasised that the Struggle Division is dedicated to “righting previous wrongs” and welcoming former service members discharged in the course of the pandemic.

“To the Sailors and Marines wrongfully discharged throughout COVID: We failed you,” Hung mentioned in a video on X. “We’ll by no means let this occur once more, not on my watch.” We’re prepared so that you can come again, and we need to appropriate your information.’

Cao, the Chief Working Officer and Chief Administration Officer of the Division of the Navy, who oversaw roughly a million Navy, Marine and civilian personnel, acknowledged the impression of the mandate on these it was pressured to depart.

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Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao appeared in a video discussing the Navy’s apology letter to former service members. (US Navy)

“We’re righting this fallacious and it begins with this formal apology letter,” he mentioned.

President Donald Trump signed Government Order 14184 shortly after returning to energy final January, directing federal companies to determine service members affected by the earlier vaccination requirement and take steps to reinstate them or restore sure advantages.

The order applies to former members of the Military, Air Pressure, Marine Corps, Navy, Area Pressure and Coast Guard who have been discharged solely for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

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Secretary of Struggle Pete Hegseth mentioned the Pentagon is reviewing discharges associated to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and dealing to appropriate army information. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg through Getty Pictures)

The previous protection secretary mandated in 2021 that every one army personnel obtain the COVID-19 vaccine, a coverage that was rescinded in 2023.

“The army wrongfully discharged those that refused the vaccine, whatever the years of service offered to our nation, after failing to grant lots of them a waiver they need to have acquired,” Trump’s government order mentioned.

The Struggle Division has issued steering to all secretaries of army departments to contact former service members with details about doable reassignment and to appropriate their discharge data.

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President Donald Trump signed an government order in January 2025 directing a evaluation of army discharges linked to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (Al Drago/Reuters)

Greater than 8,000 service members have been separated after the Biden administration’s Protection Division issued the vaccination mandate, in response to the Division of Veterans Affairs.

“It’s unconscionable that 1000’s of former service members who remained true to their private and non secular beliefs weren’t solely separated, however separated with blanket (below honorable circumstances), moderately than honorable, discharge characterizations,” Secretary of Struggle Pete Hegseth mentioned in a December memo. “Whereas many have requested and acquired help from our Army Division evaluation boards, I imagine it’s as much as us to make this proper.”

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Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao acknowledged the impression of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on service members discharged from the army. (US Navy)

Hegseth mentioned he led a proactive evaluation of personnel information to determine people who have been involuntarily discharged solely as a result of they refused the COVID-19 vaccine and to facilitate acceptable discharge upgrades.

Fox Information Digital has reached out to the Navy for added data.