New Defense Bill Orders Pentagon to Consider Reinstating Troops Fired for COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal

Military kicked out thousands of troops for not receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Oct. 12, 2023. Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP via Getty Images

A new defense bill, unveiled on Dec. 7, directs U.S. military officials to consider reinstating troops who were removed from the military for refusing to comply with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

“At the request of a covered individual during the two years following the date of the involuntary separation of the covered individual, the secretary concerned shall consider reinstating such covered individual,” the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) states.