Brig General Anthony Tata, USA ret, USMA ’81 and now the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness posted this memo on X:
MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS DIRECTOR, DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE
SUBJECT: Guidance on Process for Reinstating Service Members Negatively Impacted by the COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate
As the President of the United States stated in Executive Order 14184, “Reinstating Service members Discharged Under the Military’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate,” January 27, 2025, the vaccine mandate was unfair, overbroad, and an unnecessary burden on our Service members.
The Secretary of Defense has affirmed that the Department will do everything it can, as quickly as it can, to help those who were separated by the COVID-19 vaccine seek reinstatement.
I am fully committed to ensuring these men and women have every opportunity to continue serving their Nation.
I have heard from former Service members that there are avoidable delays in the reinstatement process (e.g., longer than expected wait times, lack of communication, and inconsistent processing across commands).
We must remove these obstacles and execute the President’s intent with speed and efficiency.
Within the next week, I expect the Military Departments to contact each individual who has reached out to my office, and address any issues they have with reinstatement.
Moreover, the Secretaries of the Military Departments should identify systemic issues affecting the process, address them, and educate their respective Military Services on reinstatement guidance.
Leaders at all levels should work swiftly to effect the dignified reinstatement of personnel discharged solely on the basis of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
All recruiters and human resource professionals should work transparently with returning Service members, and continually provide them updates on the status of their application for reinstatement.
Additionally, I expect the Military Department’s Boards of Corrections for Military and Naval Records to continue to prioritize reinstatement cases in accordance with previous guidance.
The Department owes these Service members rapid reinstatement, not red tape, and I am committed to bringing every one willing back into our military.
We’re dedicated to righting this wrong. In my July 30th memo, I tasked the Services to identify and fix issues in the COVID-19 reinstatement process. We’re tracking progress daily. More to follow. https://t.co/uktEg4HKzF pic.twitter.com/trfkbJrYTw
— Under Secretary of Defense Anthony J. Tata (@USD_PR_HONTata) August 13, 2025
Marine Veteran former Lt Col. Stu Scheller, who works in the office of the USD-P&R, added his comments:
“Update on COVID-19 reinstatement across the military force:
The Honorable Tata has his new X account at: @USD_PR_HONTata. He remains committed to supporting those who still want to serve but who exited the military because of the COVID vaccine. He recently issued a memo directing service chiefs to minimize reinstatement friction points, to remain engaged with individuals moving through the reinstatement pipeline, and to report back identified shortfalls in the process.
Also, as promised, every service member who in some form expressed interest to go through the COVID board process recently received a follow up from the respective service. This effort has almost doubled the number of packages moving towards the boards.
I have organized a listening session with the Honorable Tata on 3 September. We have identified ten key individuals who are a mix of voluntary/involuntary COVID separations, and who can speak about the concerns for the COVID refusal population. I won’t name those individuals, but if they are willing to go public, I think it would help alleviate some angst on the internet. I believe these individuals are a good representation, will provide critical feedback, and will help communicate progress to the people tracking this issue.
We want to hear key individuals’ perception of the issues for reinstatement. If there are ways we can improve the process, we want to hear directly from individuals intimately involved. Second, we want to hear what accountability looks like from the impacted population. We are interested in facts that could identify failures at the policy level.
In my last post on this topic, I stated we needed to “move forward.” It didn’t occur to me so many people would get upset about “moving forward,” but I acknowledge the passion on this topic. I also understand people don’t want to put this topic in the rearview mirror until there is a feeling that something like this will never happen again.
Because of that, I remain committed to helping people wronged, and I truly believe @USD_PR_HONTata leadership will be the catalyst for the changes many of you seek.
Update on COVID-19 reinstatement across the military force:
The Honorable Tata has his new X account at: @USD_PR_HONTata . He remains committed to supporting those who still want to serve but who exited the military because of the COVID vaccine. He recently issued a memo…
— Stuart Scheller (@stuartscheller) August 13, 2025
Some comments:
Thanks Stu… for the record, no one was “voluntary.” We were all pressured or coerced in some way. Volunteer: “to do something, esp. for other people or for an organization, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it.”
— Jordan Karr (@JordanLkarr) August 14, 2025
Thanks so much for reaching out Stu!
I look forward to sharing the problems caused by mandate, what needs to happen to repair the damage done to service members, and the need for accountability for those GOs who carried out an unlawful order & how this can be implemented.
— John Frankman (@JohnFrankmanFL) August 13, 2025
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