More than 200 active-duty and retired military personnel are vowing to hold the Biden administration accountable for “trampling” on their rights by enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The mandate, issued in August 2021, led to the forced discharge of more than 8,000 soldiers who refused the shot on religious or medical grounds.
On New Year's Day, more than 200 military personnel said they will do “everything” in their power to ensure accountability, as no leader has resigned or been held accountable despite last year's rollback of the vaccine mandate.
In a letter obtained by DailyMail.com, current and former troops accuse Biden's military leadership of “continuing to ignore” their pleas to address the “injuries and laws that have been broken.”
They are even threatening to force Biden's top leaders out of retirement so they can be court-martialed and held accountable.
“While implementing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, military leaders broke the law, trampled on constitutional rights, denied informed consent, permitted unwilling medical experimentation, and suppressed the free exercise of religion,” the letter said.
More than 200 active-duty and retired military personnel are vowing to hold the Biden administration accountable for “trampling” on their rights by enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
On New Year's Day, more than 200 military personnel said they will do “everything” in their power to ensure accountability, as no leader has resigned or been held accountable despite the rollback of the vaccine mandate.
It goes on to say that both service members and their families have “suffered significant harm” and that their “suffering continues to be felt financially, emotionally and physically.”
“Some service members became part of our growing homeless veteran population, some developed debilitating vaccination injuries, and some even lost their lives,” the letter continues.
The mandate was ultimately repealed in the December 2022 defense authorization bill, but it did not reinstate service members who were discharged for not receiving the shot, nor did it provide any other compensation.
In the open letter they explicitly mention the now retired and still serving top commanders from whom they demand accountability.
These include former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who left the Army in October, and Gen. James McConville, who served as the Army's 40th chief of staff until 2023.
“These individuals have enabled lawlessness and unwilling military experimentation,” they say.
'The moral and physical damage they have caused is considerable. They have betrayed the trust of military personnel and the American people. Their actions caused irreparable damage to the armed forces and the institutions for which we fought and bled.”
They have “refused to resign” or take any responsibility for their actions, the agency members say.
The letter continues with a mutual promise to hold them accountable through “lawful word and deed.”
It was signed by a handful of candidates running for Congress in 2024, including Mara Macie, a military spouse in Florida, and Cameron Hamilton in Virginia, a former Navy SEAL.
The military has recently come under scrutiny for trying to win back the favor of soldiers who were fired after being rejected the COVID-19 vaccine for religious or medical reasonswhich offers a 'correction of military data'.
But the letter sparked an outcry from the Defense Department from lawmakers and current and former service members who said there was always a process in place to do just that.
Since the mandate, the military has also faced a massive recruit shortage of 55,000 in the 2022 financial year – which was 10,000 short of the target for that year.
Congress is also working to further correct the mistakes these soldiers faced, but many soldiers told DailyMail.com this is just the beginning.
The most recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed a year later in December 2023, includes a provision that allows former service members who have been discharged to change their discharge status.
But some current and former troops say the NDAA changes for fiscal year 2024 aren't strong enough to undo the “severe harassment” they've suffered over the past two years.
The letter continues with a mutual pledge to hold them accountable through 'lawful word and deed'
The letter sparked anger at the Defense Department among lawmakers and former military personnel
John Frankman, who served in the Special Forces as part of the Green Berets, said the “missed career opportunities” he has endured over the past two years can never be undone by any action by Congress.
Another active-duty army officer previously told DailyMail.com that the dismissed troops had “had their lives turned upside down and betrayed by those charged with protecting them.”
And a formal apology from their service departments would be crucial to rebuilding trust, he added.