Members of the US military who were fired for refusing to get vaccinated must return the draft bonus

Military service members who were fired for refusing to receive the Covid-19 vaccine are being forced to return draft bonds because they failed to honor their contracts.

US Army service members are entitled to bonuses of up to $7,000 if they sign up for six years. but talking to foxnews, An anonymous soldier who was fired in May 2022 after refusing to take the jab, said he was told he had to pay $4,000 because he hadn’t turned six.

The soldier said he had to ‘sell’ unused vacation days to pay the fee, describing the move as the ‘final kick in the face’.

About 3,717 Marines, 1,816 soldiers and 2,064 sailors have been discharged for refusing to get vaccinated, according to Defense Department data cited by Reuters.

The Pentagon officially ended its covid-19 vaccination mandate earlier this month as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Despite the vaccination mandate for the military end, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has encouraged service members to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The policy, which was first imposed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about 17 months ago, was widely criticized by Republicans, while Biden officials blamed misinformation about vaccines.

The anonymous soldier told Fox: “I’ve been deployed multiple times and I feel like the last thing I had was selling leave days I earned and was never able to take due to being deployed or needing that time to prepare for training.” cycle.’

He continued: “I was about to enter a new world with no income, and that little bit more would have been a nice buffer in my emergency fund to keep me afloat until I could find a new job.”

Another anonymous soldier said that the Department of Defense under Biden has continually fallen short in its treatment of rank and file troops. That soldier said that forcing bonus payments was the ‘icing on the cake’.

That soldier added that the “appalling treatment” has broken trust between military service members and government officials.

He said that without efforts to restore trust, it will be difficult to recruit new members and keep soldiers in the service.

He continued: ‘People who make public statements that they are not sure what has contributed to the current recruitment and retention deficiencies should look in the mirror; and perhaps they should resign for the good of our Nation.’

An anonymous soldier told Fox News this week that the Department of Defense under Biden has continually let the rank and file down.

This week, Senator Ted Cruz announced his intention to introduce a bill that would rehire all servicemen who were fired for refusing the vaccine.

The Marine Corps announced this week that larger bonuses would be awarded to recruiters as the branch continues to strive to meet its goals.

In his report, military.com he cites the vaccine mandate as one reason for the slowdown in recruitment, noting that there is no ‘single root cause’.

This week, Senator Ted Cruz announced his intention to introduce a bill that would rehire all servicemen who were fired for refusing the vaccine.

Cruz said, “My legislation would provide relief to every one of those servicemen and women, provide a pathway for those who wish to return to service to be reinstated to their previous rank with full benefits.”

The former presidential candidate added: ‘And for those who choose not to return to duty, to ensure their discharge is an honorable one, rather than just a general discharge, and make sure they receive all the benefits they’ve earned defending our nation. .’

The bill, known as the Allowing Military Exemptions, Acknowledging Individual Concerns About New Injections (AMERICANS) Act of 2023, has the support of at least 12 other Republican members of the Senate.

In August 2021, Biden ordered all 1.3 million active members of the US military to be fully vaccinated.

Speaking about the bill, Cruz said Fox that while the mandate has been prevented from going forward, it ‘provided no relief to the thousands of servicemen and women who were wrongfully terminated, who were subjected to demotion, forced retirement, layoff’.

Cruz said he is hopeful the bill can make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate and expressed disappointment that the legislation has not received any vocal support from across the aisle.

The senator ended the interview with a message to service members that read: “My message to all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen unfairly discharged under this abusive mandate is: I will not stop fighting for you.” We will continue to fight until he gets the relief he deserves and until this injustice is corrected.’

Defense Secretary Austin encouraged all service members to continue getting vaccinated and boosted, but announced that the military would no longer discharge troops who refuse to get vaccinated.

“No person currently serving in the Armed Forces will be separated solely for their refusal to receive the covid-19 vaccine if they requested a waiver in religious, administrative or medical rounds,” the Pentagon chief said.

“Military departments will update the records of such individuals to eliminate any adverse action associated solely with the denial of such requests, including letters of reprimand.”

In August 2021, Biden ordered all 1.3 million active members of the US military to be fully vaccinated.

Service members who refused to be vaccinated were threatened with the loss of their pay, among other disciplinary measures.