Pete Hegseth is ‘Psyched’ About News on Soldiers Fired Over Biden’s Jab Mandate [WATCH]

Thousands of U.S. service members who were discharged under Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate are being fully reinstated under orders from President Donald Trump, who signed the directive shortly after taking office in January 2025.

Approximately 8,000 service members were removed from active duty after refusing to comply with the vaccine requirement implemented under the previous administration.

Many cited religious objections or concerns over the vaccine’s emergency-use authorization status during the time of enforcement.

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In an interview with Fox News, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the Department of Defense is executing President Trump’s order to reinstate those individuals with full back pay and their former rank.

The reinstatement is part of what Hegseth described as a broader effort to restore trust and accountability within the military ranks following what he called “outrageous” dismissals during the Biden-Harris administration.

“We’re psyched. This is one of the made promises kept from President Trump,” Hegseth said.

“We have followed through at the Defense Department. If you are a person of conscience, a person of faith who believe that you shouldn’t have to take an experimental vaccine in order to serve in our military, we will apologize to you.”

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Hegseth emphasized that letters have already gone out to those discharged, inviting them to return to service.

“We will recognize the wrong that’s been done. We will welcome you back with rank and back pay, and we want your service,” he added.

The effort to restore these individuals began shortly after President Trump’s return to office in January.

According to Hegseth, “We started it as quickly as possible. As you can imagine, sometimes these things take a little bit of time to work out. All the letters are out to the folks who were pushed out, and we welcome them back as quickly and robustly as possible.”

Hegseth expressed particular concern over how long-serving, experienced personnel were dismissed due to the mandate, saying, “These are some of our best and brightest. We were kicking out folks with 17 years in, 18 years in, 19 years in, saying, ‘Sorry, you won’t take the jab. You can’t serve.’ That was an outrage.”

He also noted the cultural shift within the military since the reinstatement order, describing how morale has improved under the new administration.

“President Trump got elected and immediately mandated us. We’re welcoming—in fact, here at the Office of Secretary of Defense, I hope to get to meet soon a number of these troops,” Hegseth said. “It’s changed the whole environment.”

“You can hold your religious beliefs and that view and serve as well. That pertains to these COVID vaccines, and we welcome them. We’re glad they’re back,” he concluded.

AMAZING! 🇺🇸 @PeteHegseth welcomes back service members with back pay who were discharged for refusing the vaccine:

“If you are a person of conscience, a person of faith who believed you shouldn’t have to take an experimental vaccine in order to serve in our military, we will… pic.twitter.com/FszdwOIJKe

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 10, 2025

The Department of Defense is expected to continue processing individual reinstatements in the coming weeks, with many returning service members being reassigned to previous units or equivalent posts.

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