Last week both the United States Army and Air Force told soldiers and airman that were kicked out over the COVID-19 vaccine they could come back. According to the blog, Task and Purpose, the Army sent letters to 1,900 active-duty soldiers who were separated for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, asking them to consider coming back on active duty. The Daily Caller reported a similar letter was sent by the Secretary of the USAF to airmen who were separated due to not taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) letter outlines how former airmen can request to have their service records amended to show that they received honorable discharges and seek reentry into the service. The SECAF letter says, “Our records indicate you separated from military service as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the Armed Forces, which was rescinded by the Secretary of Defense on January 10, 2023, and by the Secretary of the Air Force on January 23, 2023. Should you desire to request consideration of a correction to your personnel records, including records regarding the characterization of your discharge, you may submit a request to the Air Force Discharge Review Board or the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records.”
It seems both services are sending letters asking former service members to come back because they are having a tough time achieving their recruiting goals. The Army missed its recruiting goal by around 25%, or 15,000 soldiers, in 2022. Both services cite working with a local recruiter to get back into their respective service and have their records changed via the Board of Corrections for Military Records (BCMR) process.
Working with the BCMR process can be difficult and most importantly, time-consuming. Our experience has shown when a new governmental policy comes out as complex and overarching as this one, there are many 2nd and 3rd order effects that need to be taken into the calculus. Too many times, government agencies do not have the procedures and personnel in place to execute such a major policy move.
There are so many unknowns for implementing this policy. For instance, do you get your old rank back, is there back pay, or other benefits? What is the assignment process? What is the retraining plan? The answers to these questions should be explained in writing before making the transition back to active duty.
The Law Office of Shannon James is working to understand this new and evolving process for our clients. We strongly recommend doing as much research as possible before returning to active duty. Serving in the military can be very rewarding, but those considering re-entry should fully understand the impacts and potential downside before making this decision.
