The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday the reinstatement of 56 U.S. Coast Guard members who were discharged for refusing to comply with the now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The reinstated service members will receive back pay, according to DHS officials.
The mandate, initially implemented in 2021 mirroring a Department of Defense directive, required all U.S. Service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. Coast Guard adopted the policy, leading to the separation of 274 members who refused the vaccination without an approved exemption. The mandate was rescinded in January 2023.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem characterized the reinstatement as a significant victory for individual liberties. “This is a victory for religious, personal, and medical freedom for all Americans — both in and out of uniform,” Noem said in a statement. “The last administration’s vaccine mandates were unconstitutional, un-American, and a gross violation of personal freedom.”
A three-member panel of the Coast Guard Board for Correction of Military Records voted on February 12th to support Secretary Noem’s recommendation to reinstate the 56 individuals, according to a decision released Tuesday. Prior to this action, 69 Coast Guard members had already been reinstated. The Coast Guard’s “Return 2 Service” team has contacted the remaining 205 members who were involuntarily separated for vaccine refusal, but only 56 were included in Noem’s recommendation.
Noem further stated, “This decision to reinstate these members of the Coast Guard is a major step in the right direction.”
