Military personnel forced to return signing bonuses after dismissal due to COVID vaccine: “Kick in the face”

U.S. military personnel who were fired for refusing to comply with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate are now forced to pay their initial recruitment bonuses, which Fox News Digital says are a “kick in the face” after years dedicated to their lives . for the defense of the country.

One former soldier who was fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 last May told Fox News Digital that he would have to pay back his original signing bonus after leaving the military because he defaulted on his contract. .

The soldier signed a six-year contract with the army and received a $7,000 bonus. But because he was under six years of age, the military notified him that he owed the government a proportionate amount of just over $4,000. To repay the debt, he had to “sell” 60 unused vacation days to cover the amount owed.

He said the impact on his mental health was extremely negative because the way he was treated by the military was “the last blow to the face”.

PENTAGON revokes COVID VACCINE MANDATE FOR TROOPS

“I went several times and I think the last thing I had was the sale of earned vacation days, which I could not take due to the fact that I was sent on a business trip or I needed this time to prepare to the learning cycle. I was about to enter a new world with no income and this extra piece would be a good buffer in my rainy day fund to keep me afloat until I can find a new job,” he said.

“The Department of Defense is still failing to restore confidence in wrongdoing, and this is just another example of that,” said another Fox News Digital serviceman, who said the payback on signing bonuses is “the icing on the cake” of the Pentagon’s recent attitude towards the troops.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed a memorandum this month that would update records and remove letters of reprimand from service members whose vaccine exemption requests were denied.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images/File)

“The appalling treatment these people have suffered has undermined the trust we owe to our citizens and our volunteers. To the sons and daughters of America,” the soldier said in a statement. “Until a real effort is made to build trust, recruitment and retention problems will only continue. People who make public statements about being unsure what has contributed to their current recruitment and retention problems should take a look in the mirror; and perhaps they should retire for the good of our nation.”

HOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF VAX’S MILITARY MANDATE ENDED IN THE NDAA

The Pentagon’s move to recover signature bonuses from retired military personnel comes after President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a House and Senate-approved provision to reverse the administration’s ruling. military mandate for vaccination. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed a memorandum this month that would update records and remove letters of reprimand from service members whose vaccine exemption requests were denied.

The Pentagon has said that back pay for military personnel fired for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine is not an issue the Department of Defense is “tackling.”
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh/File)

Lawmakers are pressuring the Pentagon to do more and provide payment arrears for the approximately 8,400 U.S. military personnel laid off after refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. However, the Pentagon said payment arrears for military personnel fired for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine is not an issue that the Department of Defense is “chasing.”

Reinstatement is a priority for some Republicans, who said the strict mandate is one reason army recruitment is at “an all-time low.”

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A Pentagon spokesman did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. An army spokesman forwarded the request to the Pentagon.