Air Force moves to quickly reinstate airmen discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccine

Editor’s note: A previous version of this report contained an attribution error regarding a statement on an increase in inquiries and applications for Air Force reinstatements.

The Air Force is speeding up the reinstatement of former airmen discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, including changes aimed at eliminating a roughly 30-day bottleneck in the application process, according to the service.

The Air Force identified 377 former service members this spring who were involuntarily discharged “solely for declining the COVID-19 vaccination,” according to a March 19 news release.

The service declined to say Friday how many have applied for reinstatement or returned to uniform, but an unnamed spokesperson said by email Friday that the Air Force has seen a steady increase “in inquiries and active application packages.”

Procedural changes announced Aug. 11 are intended to ease an average 30-day delay associated with medical clearances, according to the Air Force. Each applicant also will be assigned a counselor to guide them through the process.

“The Department of the Air Force is unwavering in its commitment to remedying the injustice caused by the previous COVID-19 vaccination mandate,” Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lohmeier said in a statement provided Friday by the spokesperson.

The Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have offered reinstatement to former service members discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccination between August 2021 and early 2023.

More than 8,000 service members were discharged under the mandate, according to the Defense Department.

No Space Force guardians were separated for refusing vaccination, Patricia Mulcahy, then the service’s deputy personnel chief, told Congress in April 2022.

Reinstated airmen and guardians must agree to serve at least two years and may choose active duty, the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve, according to the service’s reinstatement website. They also are being offered a choice of assignment location.

Other military branches have already returned scores of former service members to uniform.

The Navy has 118 former sailors in various stages of reinstatement, spokeswoman Lt. j.g. Samantha Mendiguren said by email Friday. Seventy-one have returned to active duty and 42 to the reserves.

Sailors may incur a two-year service commitment even if they became eligible to retire while separated, according to the Navy’s reinstatement website.

The Marines have reinstated 62 troops since President Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 27, 2025, directing the military to offer reinstatement, Headquarters Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jacoby Getty said by email Thursday.

Fifty have returned to active duty and 12 to the reserves, while another 49 are in various stages of reinstatement, he said.

Reinstated Marines generally must serve two to four years on active duty, in the Reserve or through a combination of the two, according to the Marine Corps. Those who became eligible for retirement during their separation may qualify for a shorter commitment.

The Coast Guard had reinstated 52 former members as of Feb. 24, according to a service news release. The Army did not respond to an email request for updated figures Tuesday.

Former service members who do not want to return to uniform may instead seek financial relief and corrections to their military records through their service’s review process.

The Marine Corps is assisting 90 people pursuing that option, while 73 former sailors are doing so through the Navy, according to Getty and Mendiguren.

“These individuals are typically seeking corrections to their discharge characterization, narrative reason for separation, and other administrative details to ensure their records accurately reflect the circumstances of their separation,” Getty said.