Though the military-wide orders to receive the coronavirus vaccine have been repealed, the Defense Department stands firm on the results of its policy.
\nThe Pentagon on Tuesday shut down speculation it\u2019s considering back pay for service members it discharged for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, distancing itself from an\u00a0already politically hazardous issue\u00a0that has become\u00a0even more prejudicial for the military\u00a0with Republican control of Congress.
\n\u201cRight now, we are not pursuing, as a matter of policy, back pay for those who refused the vaccine,\u201d Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesman for the Defense Department, told reporters in response to one of several questions about the issue.
\n\u201cAt the time those orders were refused, it was a lawful order,\u201d Ryder added.
\nHe spoke a week after the Pentagon formally rescinded the policy that required all troops to receive the shots with very few exemptions, in line with new legislation signed into law on Dec. 23 that forced the change.\u00a0Politico\u00a0had reported on Friday, citing an unnamed spokesperson, that the department was considering issuing back pay at that time. Ryder on Tuesday distanced the Pentagon from any such speculation.
\nDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin in announcing the congressionally mandated repeal was unapologetic for the policy, saying in a memo on Jan. 10 that he is \u201cdeeply proud for the Department\u2019s work to combat the coronavirus disease,\u201d which he said \u201cwill leave a lasting legacy in the many lives we saved.\u201d He cited the orders from Congress that he change the policy, said no further service members would be discharged for refusing the vaccine and announced that any troops under existing investigation or judicial process would be cleared.
\nIt remains unclear the extent to which the department would allow service members who have been discharged to rejoin. However, Tuesday\u2019s statements following Austin\u2019s memo align with a general air in the department of disinterest in further accommodating those affected by the policy.
\nRoughly 99% of all active-duty troops received the vaccine. More than 8,400 service members were discharged from the military for refusing to take it. All of those kicked out of military service received at least a \u201cgeneral discharge under honorable conditions,\u201d with others receiving the higher \u201chonorable discharge.\u201d The difference affects medical and other benefits service members receive after leaving the military.
\nRepublicans in Congress\u00a0raised almost immediate alarm\u00a0after Austin first announced the policy in August 2021, followed by a series of deadlines that each department determined for itself, beginning with the Air Force and Space Force at the beginning of November that year.<\/p>\n