Air Force Upgrades COVID Discharges, Extends Deadline to Rejoin the Service

The Air Force has upgraded the discharges of nearly 600 Airmen separated from service for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination and extended the deadline for those separated to rejoin the service.

The Department of the Air Force announced March 19 that it had completed a proactive review and upgrade to the records nine months ahead of a deadline set by Pentagon leaders back in December.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on social media March 20 that the department is also extending the deadline for separated military members to rejoin the service to April 1, 2027, and reducing the obligated service from four years to two years.

“Completing this review in record time is more than just an administrative update; it’s how we restore trust and honor the commitment of those who raised their hand to serve,” Air Force Undersecretary Matt Lohmeier said in a release. “This is one way we show how much we value your service and reflects our best effort to make things right.”

The review, conducted by the Air Force Review Boards Agency, provided the following upgrades to separated Airmen:

An “Honorable” service characterization, indicating individuals met all standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty while in uniform.
A reentry code, indicating individuals are eligible for immediate reenlistment provided they meet enlistment standards.
A “Secretarial Authority” narrative reason for separation, indicating the discharge from service was not for misconduct or failure to meet standards.
Individuals who met the eligibility requirements now receive the full amount of post-service benefits, such as a VA home loan and the Post-9/11 GI Bill

The agency initially identified 377 individuals who were involuntarily discharged solely for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination during the August 2021 to January 2023 mandate.

The agency also reviewed another 218 involuntary discharges whose separation fell outside the initial scope of the review. The total number of upgrades granted included 595 members of the Active-Duty and Air National Guard with ranks ranging from Airman 1st Class to Master Sergeant, according to the release.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to upgrade nearly 600 cases for those previously given a ‘General’ discharge to now an ‘Honorable’ discharge, whose involuntary separation precluded their reentry to service or mischaracterized their discharge as anything other than COVID-related,” Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Richard L. Anderson said in the release.

Back in 2023, then-Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones told lawmakers the department had discharged 610 Airmen for refusing the vaccine. The vast majority of those were general discharges.

The Air Force is reaching out to each individual affected by involuntary separation to ensure they’re aware of the upgrade and their service benefits, Anderson said.

A Department of Air Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine that only Airmen were impacted by the involuntary separations; no Space Force Guardians were included.

Separated service members are eligible for back pay and bonuses if they meet eligibility requirements outlined by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

Those rejoining the force are eligible for reinstatement to their former rank. Individuals may request a conditional decision on their reinstatement and an official estimate of their potential benefits from DFAS prior to rejoining the service.

Previous rules required a four-year obligation for those rejoining, but that has been reduced to a two-year obligation, which is retroactive for those who’ve already rejoined under the four-year commitment, Hegseth said.

Those rejoining must meet current medical standards to re-enter military service.

As of February, 153 individuals across the military services have rejoined following their discharge upgrade, and another 800 service members have expressed interest in returning, a Pentagon official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The Air Force has received applications for reinstatement from ranks ranging from Airman Basic to brigadier general, an Air Force spokesperson said.