It’s a story that should be in the news more often than it is: the effort to fix the damage to the country the left inflicted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. No one has been criminally charged for the worst offenses. The causes of so much harm have still not been officially recognized as causes. And the fallout has yet to be dealt with completely.
That’s why a story about the U.S. Coast Guard reinstating 56 members stands out.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed yesterday that it is reinstating those 56 members of the Coast Guard after they were pushed out of the service by the Biden administration over their refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. DHS says that all 56 have been reinstated with back pay.
56 members of the United States Coast Guard who were kicked out of the service over the COVID-19 vaccine have finally been reinstated with back pay – this is a victory for religious, personal, and medical freedom for all Americans – both in and out of uniform. The last administration’s vaccine mandates were unconstitutional, un-American, and a gross violation of personal freedom. It was no way to treat the men and women who put everything on the line to keep our country safe, said Secretary Kristi Noem.
On Aug. 21, 2021, Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin mandated that all service members take a COVID-19 vaccine. The administration rescinded that mandate on Jan. 10, 2023. The Coast Guard had implemented a similar mandate that was rescinded on Jan. 11, 2023.
In an April 2022 post on X, Sen. Ted Cruz sought answers from the Coast Guard on why its religious exemption approval rate was so low.
Out of 1300 religious exemptions for the coronavirus vaccine, only 4 were granted for the US Coast Guard.
This is a stunningly low rate. pic.twitter.com/XvgsQCUDKc
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 28, 2022
Last year, right after he returned to the Oval Office, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14184, which made reinstatement available for all service members who were discharged for refusing the vaccine.
As a result of that order, a three-member panel of the Board for Correction of Military Records of the Coast Guard voted upon Noem’s recommendation to reinstate 56 members of the Coast Guard who were discharged because of their refusal to take the COVID vaccine. The Coast Guard will now retroactively reinstate these 56 members effective upon the date of their discharge.
DHS says that this will ensure the service records of each member “reflect a period of unbroken and continuous active service between the date of their vaccine-related discharge and their reinstatement to Coast Guard duty.”
As a result, those who are being reinstated may be entitled to back pay and allowances, bonus payments, and rank and/or seniority in grade, which will be determined by the Coast Guard.
The total number of Coast Guard members pushed out of service because they refused to take the vaccine was 274. Sixty-nine of those have already been reinstated. This means a total of 125 Coast Guard members have now been reinstated as a result of the Biden administration’s dictatorial policy.
On Aug. 4, 2023, Christopher Harkins was the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the federal government in what the plaintiffs described as seeking back pay and correction of military records. In Harkins et al. v. United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Coast Guard members who had sought religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate allege that the Coast Guard under the Biden administration violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Wins like this make me feel just as good as watching the USA men’s hockey team win a gold medal.
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