This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump recently signed a series of executive orders for the military, addressing transgenderism, diversity, COVID-19 and more.
One of them offers to reinstate service members forced out of the military as a result of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's now-rescinded August 2021 vaccine mandate.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will be tasked with ensuring both active and reserve components of the military who request reinstatement will be restored to their prior rank and provided back pay and benefits.
Fox News recently reported that, according to a White House fact sheet, "After the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023, only 43 of the more than the 8,000 troops dismissed elected to return to service under the Biden Administration and Secretary Austin."
According to Trump's EO, "Federal Government redress of any wrongful dismissals is overdue." For many, it's a big step in the right direction, but is it enough to persuade former members of the military to return to service? This writer has personally spoken to hundreds of service members over the past three years who desire accountability for the military's unlawful enforcement of the shot mandate.
Specifically, 10 USC §1107a codifies that servicemembers must have the right to informed consent, which was not provided to them during the Biden administration. Each should have had the option to accept or refuse the shot, but rather, most were either coerced or booted from service.
Additionally, 21 USC § 360bbb requires that products with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) can be used only when there is no other approved drug available. Yet prior to the FDA pulling the trigger on a vaccine authorized for "emergency use only," effective drugs including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were available.
Yet for many service members, the experimental injection was the their only option to remain in the military. Those who objected were uniformly denied. Many others attempting to avoid the shot were coerced. In fact, in a survey conducted by this writer in 2022 and published by the Epoch Times, "More than 72 percent of individuals serving in the U.S. military who responded to a survey said they felt 'coerced' into receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and/or booster after the Pentagon's 2021 vaccine mandate."
So, while many are thankful for Trump's order, some former and current members of the U.S. military are also seeking accountability for the wrongs they've endured.
WorldNetDaily spoke to John Frankman, a former Army Captain and Special Forces Green Beret whose career was cut short because of the mandate. He is "incredibly grateful" that Trump signed the executive order to reinstate service members.
Yet, while he is thankful the order is "a little more inclusive" than he expected, he said, "it needs to be much broader." He suggested the inclusion of "help for people to get their careers back on track, [considering] all the career losses, as well as the lost appointments, promotions and school opportunities."
"It needs to include accountability," Frankman added. "What hasn't been acknowledged is that the order was illegal, that it violated religious rights, and that there are flag officers who broke the law and need to be held accountable for it."
After all, with respect to accountability, President Trump once told Frankman, "Yeah … there would be accountability, is right. We'll fire their asses."
Accountability is extremely important to service members like Robert A. Green, Jr., an active duty Navy Commander and author of "Defending the Constitution Behind Enemy Lines," who expressed his thoughts about the executive order on X. Interestingly, CDR Green is also author of the Declaration of Military Accountability, which was signed by 231 service members and veterans in an effort right the wrongs of the COVID-19 shot mandate.
While Green is thankful to President Trump for the executive order, he also admitted, "There is much work left to do."
