DOW • Vax

Vax Reinstatements, Remedies and After-Action Review Update by SecWarP&R Anthony Tata

5 February 2026

The Under Secretary of War for Personnel & Readiness, retired Army Brig. General Anthony Tata, USMA ’81, made a number of posts on X regarding the Covid reinstatement and remedies plus an after-action review. The text has been combined here, followed by the source posts.

“Following the 1-year anniversary of EO 14184, we want to share updates on our deliberate, comprehensive efforts to make whole our warriors impacted by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Under the leadership of @SecWar, the @DeptofWar has taken decisive action to execute this EO and restore the honor, careers & readiness of the affected community.

The @DoW_USW_PR team has been relentlessly focused on changing the system and driving progress in 3 key workstreams:

  1. Facilitating reinstatements & returning experienced warriors to the fight.
  2. Restoring dignity & offering remedies to the affected community, even if members do not wish to return to service.
  3. Ensuring such failures never happen again.

We will continue executing these priority efforts with urgency, discipline & resolve.

Update #1: Reinstatements

@DeptofWaris making steady progress on reinstatements. While we are making adjustments in stride, this is where reinstatements stand:

Of the ~8,700 warriors involuntarily discharged under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, 602 are currently expressing interest in reinstatement, 104 have been reinstated across the Services, and 115 are currently going through the process.

These reinstatements are the product of countless hours of hard work by the @DoW_USW_PR & Service teams, and consistent leadership focus at all levels of the Department.

@DeptofWar remains committed to helping every warrior who is interested in reinstatement return to service with full career & financial restoration and seamless reintegration.

To facilitate their return, the @DOW_USW_PR team has:

  • Organized a listening session with the affected community.
  • Conducted outreach to the ~8,700 Service members involuntarily discharged in writing & over the phone (twice) to apologize for this injustice and offer information on reinstatement.
  • Established senior-level Service contacts & dedicated communication channels to allow reinstatement applicants to have direct access to senior leaders & receive priority attention.
  • Offered impacted warriors head-of-line privileges at MEPS & MTFs and provided them with dedicated support from experienced professionals throughout the process.
  • Expanded service obligation options, including a 2-year active duty/ 2-year reserve split or a 4-year reserve commitment, and offered additional incentives like duty station preference, appropriate reclassification & geographic stability during initial assignments, when possible.
  • Publicly honored reinstatements at the highest levels of DoW.

Update #2: Remedies

@DeptofWar understands that not every member of the affected community seeks reinstatement.

On our initiative, we are focused on restoring dignity & offering remedies to these warriors by:

  • Identifying & automatically upgrading inappropriate discharge characterizations for ~3,000 Service members.
  • Expediting the correction of military records.
  • Directing the Military Departments to repay previously collected bonuses and, when appropriate, make payments for unearned portions of bonuses.

We have also shared updated discharge characterizations for ~900 Service members with the @DeptVetAffairs, enabling impacted veterans to access the GI Bill education benefits they have earned.

Regardless of whether warriors seek to return, we are committed to honoring their service.

Update #3: After-Action Review

@SecWar & I want to ensure that the @DeptofWar does not repeat the mistakes of the past.

We are sponsoring a comprehensive, independent, evidence-driven review of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to identify lessons learned, offer recommendations, and enhance transparency & accountability.

This study is underway. It is being conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration and will include an objective examination of how the COVID-19 vaccine mandate was developed, implemented, communicated & experienced across the force. Two members of the affected community are contributing to the effort.

What happened to this community was wrong & the after-action review is going to help us make certain that it never happens again.

@DeptofWar is considering several new initiatives to sustain our momentum and continue supporting warriors impacted by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

We are exploring the following:

  • Extending the deadline to take advantage of reinstatement by 1 year.
  • Conducting a fresh round of outreach to the ~8,700 Service members involuntarily discharged under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
  • Issuing a survey to each of these warriors to better understand their interest in returning to service (why or why not) & determine how we can best support them.
  • Establishing measures to ensure reinstated warriors will not be adversely impacted in the event of future policy changes.

Our commitment to correcting past injustices and making our Service members whole remains unwavering.

War Department Reevaluates Discharge Characterizations for COVID Vaccine Refusal

Statement on the Restoring Honor to Service Members Separated Under the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Mandate Memorandum

War Dept. Battles Internal Resistance To Reinstate 86 Soldiers Ejected By Covid Shot Mandate

Pentagon Leaders Recognize a Task Force Aimed at Tackling Issues Surrounding the COVID-19 Mandate and Reinstatement Procedure is needed

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