By Leo Shane III | Military Times
During comments at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth vowed to reinstate and reimburse troops dismissed from the ranks for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine years ago.
The surprise statement came amid unrelated questions about Hegseth’s views towards diversity and discrimination policies in the military. Hegseth, who previously served in the National Guard, said past Pentagon policies requiring the vaccine amounted to its own form of religious discrimination.
“Tens of thousands of service members were kicked out because of an experimental vaccine,” Hegseth said. “They will be apologized to. They will be reinstated, reinstituted with pay and rank.”