By LINDA BOYLE
In 2023, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate attempted to pass a law to reinstate the 8,400 military members who were discharged from service because they refused to take the Covid jab. That attempt failed in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
But this year a different House and Senate — controlled by Republicans — are trying to pass legislation again.
Congressman Pat Harrigan of North Carolina and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas are working parallel bills referred to as the Americans Act of 2025.
What would these bills mean to those who were discharged during the Covid years?
Sen. Cruz’s Americans Act of 2025 would require the Department of Defense to:
- Offer reinstatement to any service member separated solely for Covid-19 vaccine status, crediting such service member with the time of involuntary separation for retirement pay calculations;
- Restore the rank of any service member demoted solely for Covid-19 vaccine status and compensate them for any pay and benefits lost as a result of that demotion;
- Adjust to “honorable” any “general” discharge given to a service member due solely to Covid-19 vaccine status;
- Make service members whole for any bonuses they were forced to repay or did not receive based solely on their Covid-19 vaccine status;
- Expunge from a service member’s record any adverse action based solely on Covid-19 vaccine status, regardless of whether or not such service member previously sought an accommodation.
- Make every effort to retain service members not vaccinated against Covid-19, providing them with professional development, promotion, and leadership opportunities equal to that of their peers; and
- Provide a Covid-19 vaccine exemption process for service members with natural immunity, a relevant underlying health condition, or a sincerely held religious belief inconsistent with being vaccinated.
If this legislation were passed, it certainly would vindicate those hurt by the government’s heavy handed approach to the Covid jab. Very few religious exemptions were allowed.
Military members were coerced into taking the jabs. If they chose to leave the military, they were made an example of by some commanders.
One commander told the story to all his troops at his commander’s call that he had discharged a service member with a promotion number to the next rank because she could not in good conscience take a shot she religiously opposed. She had nearly 17 years of military service.
It fascinates me how zealous the services were in forcing these people out of service.
It reminded me of the Anthrax shot that was required for deployable troops back in the late 1990s, early 2000s.
I was a medical group commander at that time. One of my doctors had been deployed for Desert Shield/Desert Storm and returned home with an unusual blood disorder. Now as a deployable doctor, he was mandated to take the Anthrax shot. I could have forced him to do so, but felt his health concerns were valid. I had him evaluated by my infectious disease doctor. He stated that this doctor should not get the Anthrax vaccine due to his previous health concerns returning from Iraq.
I removed him from deployment and retained him in my family practice clinic.
Fast forward to four years ago. I doubt I would have had the same flexibility when it came to the Covid jab.
In a recent article I wrote about according to Dr. Anthony Fauci’s then definition, the military had herd immunity with the need to mandate it for all service members.
Herd immunity used to be the standard. During flu season, the flu vaccine was mandated for all military personnel. Yet my public health department told me that once we went over 75%, we would have herd immunity. They weren’t concerned about those who did not take the vaccine.
But the Covid years were run by zealots. The jab was the only acceptable answer with very few exceptions. At what cost did the military push this agenda?
We lost some well trained and excellent military members who were concerned about their faith and their health.
Congress is attempting to remedy that. I am not sure how successful it will be, nor do I know what effect that would have on those members should they choose to return.
You can help these wronged military members get justice by contacting your congressperson and senators.
Read more about The House version of The Americans Act of 2025.
If you are interested in weighing in, here are the web pages with contact links for Congressman Nick Begich and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan:
https://www.sullivan.senate.gov
https://www.murkowski.senate.gov
https://begich.house.gov/about
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance/Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom.
I wonder what the damage numbers in the military from Covid vax is. ??
Certainly, every American harmed by those in authority; forced, and or compelled to take experimental drugs.
Those authorities not unlike the Nuremberg Trials, should be prosecuted. Hoax-19 proved to those attached to our faculties that the world remains the same. Not that long, NAZI Germany marginalized a group of people. Call them the unvaccinated for this exercise. Nothing new under the Sun. And in every dark recess lurks these demented and angry souls. Murderers and cowards claiming they were just following orders. Worse, most remain unrepentant and continue their support for the poisonous experimental drugs.
Penalizing an American Freedom fighter due to Pres Biden order. It’s a long time coming . .
This is the only ethical thing that can be done, at least offer to bring them back to the fold, and pay them the pay they lost due to covid junkies. But then, who would really want to come back after you’d been treated like an animal by your own government?
I’m guessing that RINO, ie: Lisa Murkowski, won’t be supporting this initiative!
RFK 2,
All the way to Secretary of HSS.
Love this man.
The author needs to be ashamed of herself. Shame on you and quit the exercise of excuses.
This is the way. I have hopes for Sullivan and Begich on this. Lisa is a toss-up (she really should be tossed out, but that’s another issue). My son was a tier 1 operator who had to endure more than a dozen anthrax shots during his MIL career and deployments. Even though his records showed he had had the vaxxes in the reasonable timeframe, they kept forcing him to get them. He has been sick ever since. This includes blood issues described in this article. Those who stood up and said, “No!” were fired. Many had already heard about the anthrax issue from others in the MIL. There’s no way they were going to get an experimental wax with unknown health consequences. Good on them. We have to remember this. Never again. There’s a reason why Biden pardoned Fauci. And himself.