The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the armed forces is officially dead. However, what will happen to approximately 8100 servicemembers discharged for refusing to comply? Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-21) is introducing legislation to fully reinstate these members.
Dubbed the Vaccine Reenlistment Act, any member of the armed forces who was discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine will be allowed to return to their previous rank and pay grade they held before.
"We are facing multiple national security threats," Rep. Mast says in the press release. "Now is not the time to play politics with servicemembers who are committed to serving the United States," he adds. Mast calls the mandate repeal "a step in the right direction." However, he also says "we should finish what we started and give every servicemember discharged for exercising his or her right to medical freedom an opportunity to return to the military."
Mast describes how the discharged servicemembers were not given an opportunity to reenlist to their previous positions. With serious problems for each of the six branches being able to find recruits, letting go of those already trained and qualified is not an option.
The Floridian received an additional comment from Mast.
"There are thousands of people who have been harmed by Joe Biden’s big government edict, but this bill is about more than just righting that wrong, it’s about military readiness. We need to get these men and women back in uniform and back doing the job they were trained to do: protecting our nation," stated Mast.
Six other Florida Republicans joined Mast in introducing the bill, including Reps. Matt Gaetz (1), John Rutherford, Bill Posey, Gus Bilirakis, Greg Steube, and Byron Donalds.
