Potentially thousands of service members who were discharged after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine may regain eligibility for GI Bill education benefits, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs
More than 8,000 service members were discharged when they refused to comply with the Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate. And more than half of those received a discharge that was characterized as less than fully honorable, which may have made them ineligible for GI Bill education benefits, according to a Veterans Affairs release.
In response to President Donald Trump issuing Executive Order 14184 in January, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the military departments to facilitate, among other things, discharge upgrades for individuals involuntarily separated solely for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine and whose service was characterized as less than fully honorable.
Following Department of Defense reviews, 899 of these veterans are now eligible for GI Bill education benefits, and thousands more could also regain GI Bill eligibility because of the executive order.
Veterans Affairs sent letters in September to vets who have already received upgraded discharges to inform them of their potential eligibility for GI Bill education benefits.
Members of the Trump administration applauded the move and blamed President Joe Biden for the situation.
“The Biden Administration’s authoritarian COVID mandates upended the lives and livelihoods of thousands of service members and veterans,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “We are proud to help implement President Trump’s executive order and make these Veterans whole again.”
Collins' department now encourages all veterans who were discharged from service for refusing the order to get the vaccine to seek an upgraded status and apply for GI Bill benefits.
Hegseth called the discharging of "perfectly healthy warfighters" who refused the vaccine mandate "one of the most atrocious attacks on our military."
“We must never let that happen again, and we must also right the wrongs of the past in order to restore trust," Hegseth said in a statement.
According to the release, veterans who believe they were discharged inappropriately or believe their military personnel records still reflect an error or injustice (for example, separation under the COVID-19 mandate) may request review from a Discharge Review Board or Board for Correction of Military or Naval Records. For more information, visit the Military Department Review Boards website.
Once veterans receive official notification that their discharge status has been upgraded to fully honorable, they can submit a new education benefits claim to VA.
For more information on VA education benefits, visit here or call 888-GIBILL-1.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.