It’s been roughly five years since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit America, but the fallout over what was done during that period are still being addressed. Mask mandates, social distancing, and other responses to COVID seemed to affect all walks of life. But when it comes to our nation’s military members, there are still thousands who have yet to be reinstated for refusing the COVID vaccine.

Roughly 80,000 to 100,000 service members were impacted by a 2021 COVID policy that required all U.S. servicemembers under the Biden administration’s Department of Defense (DOD) to take the COVID vaccine. About 8,400 troops were kicked out of the military for refusing to take it. Even though these troops had personal and religious reasons for their refusal, they were still discharged.

Michael Berry, executive director of the Center for Litigation at the America First Policy Institute, addressed the White House’s decision to reinstate these servicemembers on last Wednesday’s “Washington Watch.” Before the final order came down, Berry expressed his hopes that the president would soon address the military members who were discharged for not taking the vaccine. As he put it, “[M]yself … [and] others in the veteran and service member community are paying close attention to [a potential] executive order that restores and reinstates the service members … who [were] punished and … adversely treated in the military for having a religious objection.”

A few days later, the president reinstated more than 8,000 military members who were punished for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, The Post Millennial reported that Trump “is going to be providing full back pay for each servicemember that was discharged” as well as allowing their prior ranks to be restored in full. Fox News obtained a Fact Sheet from the White House that read: “The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated.”

In a statement, the White House added, “The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members. Further, the military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of the years of service given to our Nation, after failing to grant many of them an exemption that they should have received. Federal Government redress of any wrongful dismissals is overdue.”

This move from Trump, however, was not entirely a surprise. During his inaugural address last week, he said, “This week I will reinstate any servicemembers who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate, with full back pay.” This was the promise Berry hoped Trump would fulfill, and this is the promise Berry celebrates now.

In an exclusive comment to The Washington Stand, Berry emphasized, “President Trump has delivered on yet another of his campaign promises. His executive order will restore the American people’s faith and confidence in our military by offering the opportunity for those who were unfairly and improperly discharged to return to military service. Along with Secretary of Defense [Pete] Hegseth, President Trump is taking bold, decisive steps to make our military great again.” But as Berry previously highlighted, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and “it’s going to require a lot of heavy lifting.”

As Family Research Council President Tony Perkins previously explained, getting back on track requires more than President Trump signing executive orders, but also by getting “the administration, through Congress … to weed out those politically correct flag officers that enabled all of these attacks on religious freedom.”