(LifeSiteNews) — The U.S. Army has reached out to the nearly 2,000 soldiers kicked out of the service for refusing to get the mandated COVID-19 shot now that the draconian mandate has been scrapped, advising them on how to correct their records and rejoin the military.
The Army sent the letter to soldiers who had been “involuntarily separated for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination,” advising them on how to correct their records after “the rescission of all current COVID-19 vaccination requirements.”
‘Individuals may request a correction to military personnel records, including records regarding the characterization of discharge, by submitting a request… online,” the letter reads.
READ: Ex-Special Forces officer speaks out about US Army’s pressure campaign to ‘coerce’ COVID vaccination
According to the document, ousted service members “may request a correction of their military records” and can contact their local recruiting office if they “desire to apply to return to service.”
Recipients of the letter are directed to fill out either an Application for the Review of Discharge of Dismissal or an Application for Correction of Military Record Under the Provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552 to request the correction.
The non-personalized document, signed by Brig. Gen. Hope Rampy, Army Director of Personnel Management, had been circulated on social media in recent days. The Army confirmed its authenticity to military news site Task & Purpose, which reported that the letter has been mailed out to the approximately 1,900 soldiers who were booted from service for bucking the mandate.
“This was specifically as part of the COVID mandate recession process,” Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee told the outlet.
The letter comes after the Army did away with “all policies associated with the DOD COVID-19 vaccination mandate” in February following the December 2022 rollback of the military jab mandate. That reversal was sparked by Republican congressmen, who added a provision to the annual defense budget requiring the removal of the jab rule.
Discussion in January concerning whether the military would provide back pay to fired soldiers ended with the Pentagon stating that it would not do so.
In a February press release, the Army stated that soldiers who were still serving would ‘not be separated for refusing to receive the COVID vaccine if they sought an exemption on religious, administrative or medical grounds,” and that “Records of Soldiers who requested COVID vaccine exemptions will be updated to remove and/or correct any adverse actions associated with denials of such requests, as well as any flags associated with those adverse actions.”
READ: House rescinds military jab mandate without reinstatement or back pay for ousted service members
It’s unclear how popular the Army’s invitation to its ousted members will be.
Task & Purpose cited an October report by CNN that noted just 43 of the more than 8,000 service members from all branches who had been involuntarily discharged over their jab refusal had indicated an interest in re-entering the armed forces. Moreover, the outlet noted, only 19 soldiers who had been kicked out for failing to get jabbed had returned as of September.
The lack of interest in rejoining the service could be an issue for the Army – and the military writ large – as the U.S. armed forces suffer through an ongoing inability to hit recruitment goals.
Reasons of the recruitment slump are varied, but Task & Purpose noted that they include “the economy and job market” as well as rates of “sexual assault and suicide in the ranks.”
In addition, conservatives have suggested that the military’s promotion of woke, left-wing ideology on matters pertaining to gender and race have also damaged recruitment efforts.
“Although direct ‘cause and effect’ studies on the impact of woke policies such as these do not exist, common sense suggests that the consequences for military readiness are dramatic,” wrote Thomas Spoehr, former director, Center for National Defense, for The Heritage Foundation.
“Spending billions on woke programs while the Chinese are outpacing us on hypersonic weapons, quantum computing, and other important military technologies is one piece of evidence,” Spoehr said. “Recent reports showing the military’s dismal failure to gain new recruits in adequate numbers is another.”
“Is anyone surprised that potential recruits – many of whom come from rural or poor areas of the country – don’t want to spend their time being lectured about white privilege?” he said.