Pentagon not currently considering back pay for US troops separated for refusing COVID-19 vaccine
Congress may end up deciding this issue.
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED JAN 17, 2023 4:28 PM
The Defense Department is backtracking on an earlier statement that appeared to open the possibility that the more than 8,400 U.S. service members who were separated for refusing to get vaccinated for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could receive back pay.
“Right now, we are not currently pursuing back pay for service members who were dismissed for refusing to take the COVID vaccination,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday.
Ryder provided similar answers when he was asked if defense officials were conducting a review of whether troops separated for refusing to get vaccinated could receive back pay. He also declined to speculate about whether the Pentagon might revisit the back pay issue at some point in the future.
Ryder’s comments seem to contradict what another Defense Department spokesman said about this issue on Jan. 13.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/military-covid-19-vaccine-back-pay/
