By Michael Sinkewicz | Fox News
The Department of the Navy issued an apology letter Friday to former military personnel “unjustly removed” from service because of the COVID vaccine mandate during the Biden administration.
Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao emphasized that the Department of War is committed to “righting past wrongs” and welcoming back former service members who were dismissed during the pandemic.
Taking care of our warfighters and righting past wrongs are top priorities for @SecWar and @SECNAV. Today, Under Secretary Hung Cao signed an apology letter to our warriors of conscience who were unjustly removed from service by the unlawful COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and we are… pic.twitter.com/EEP7JjVpQj
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) January 24, 2026
For assistance with reinstatement or reconciliation please contact the appropriate team below.
Navy COVID Cell: https://t.co/180u53ier8
Contact: Navy_covid@us.navy.mil and (901) 874-9284
USMC COVID Cell: https://t.co/hdH5RWgwPe
Contact: smb_mm_covid_reinstatement@usmc.mil and…— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) January 24, 2026
If you experience any issues in the process, please escalate your concerns by reaching out to my team directly at: ASN(M&RA) via Director, COVID R2TF at: SN.COVID.TaskForce@us.navy.mil
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) January 24, 2026
“To the sailors and marines who were wrongfully discharged during COVID, we failed you,” Hung said in a video posted on X. “We will never allow this to happen again, not on my watch. We are ready for you to come back, and we want to correct your records.”
Cao, the Department of the Navy’s chief operating and chief management officer, overseeing roughly one million Navy, Marine Corps and civilian personnel, acknowledged the impact of the mandate on those it forced out.
“We are righting this wrong and it starts with this formal letter of apology,” he said.
President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14184 shortly after returning to office last January, directing federal agencies to identify service members affected by the former vaccine requirement and take steps to reinstate them or restore certain benefits.
The order applies to former members of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force and Coast Guard who were discharged solely for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
The former secretary of defense mandated in 2021 that all service members receive the COVID-19 vaccine, a policy that was rescinded in 2023.
“The military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of the years of service given to our Nation, after failing to grant many of them an exemption that they should have received,” Trump’s executive order states.
The Department of War issued guidance to all the secretaries of military departments to contact former service members with information about potential reinstatement and to correct their discharge records.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 8,000 service members were separated after the Biden administration’s Department of Defense issued the vaccination mandate.
“It is unconscionable that thousands of former Service members who held true to their personal and religious convictions were not just separated, but separated with general (under honorable conditions), rather than honorable, discharge characterizations,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a December memo. “While many have applied for and received relief from our Military Department review boards, I believe the onus is on us to make this right.”
Hegseth said he directed a proactive review of personnel records to identify individuals involuntarily discharged solely for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and facilitate appropriate discharge upgrades.
Text from tweets:
Taking care of our warfighters and righting past wrongs are top priorities for @SecWar and @SECNAV. Today, Under Secretary Hung Cao signed an apology letter to our warriors of conscience who were unjustly removed from service by the unlawful COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and we are working hard to welcome them back.
For assistance with reinstatement or reconciliation please contact the appropriate team below.
Navy COVID Cell: https://mynavyhr.navy.mil/About-MyNavy-HR/Sailor-Reinstatement/
Contact: Navy_covid@us.navy.mil and (901) 874-9284
USMC COVID Cell: https://manpower.marines.mil/COVID-19-Reinstatement/
Contact: smb_mm_covid_reinstatement@usmc.mil and (703) 784-9284
If you experience any issues in the process, please escalate your concerns by reaching out to my team directly at: ASN(M&RA) via Director, COVID R2TF at: SN.COVID.TaskForce@us.navy.mil
Check it out! Mr. Cao has not wavered in the fallout of the shot mandate, @SecWar, @SecNav, @USNavy.
In 2023, he stated in an interview with The Epoch Times, “somebody needs to apologize and make it right for these people that got kicked out for refusing the vaccine, were forced… https://t.co/htxfzT8Qus
— J.M. Phelps (@JMPhelpsLC) January 24, 2026
Check it out! Mr. Cao has not wavered in the fallout of the shot mandate, @SecWar, @SecNav, @USNavy.
In 2023, he stated in an interview with The Epoch Times, “somebody needs to apologize and make it right for these people that got kicked out for refusing the vaccine, were forced to retire at a lower rank, or were punished while serving.”
Two years later, he, the Under Secretary of the Navy, took it upon himself to fulfill his own words by signing the letter.
Thank you, sir. This reflects greatly on your integrity and sincerity.
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