The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that thousands of veterans who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine may now be eligible to regain their GI Bill education benefits. This follows President Trump’s Executive Order 14184, issued in January, which reinstates service members discharged under the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed military departments to support discharge upgrades for those separated solely for declining the COVID-19 vaccine and whose service was not classified as fully honorable. Over 8,000 service members were separated due to noncompliance with the vaccine mandate under the previous administration, with more than half receiving less than fully honorable discharges. These discharges often resulted in loss of eligibility for GI Bill benefits.
Following reviews by the Department of War, 899 veterans have already regained eligibility for GI Bill education benefits. The VA states that thousands more could become eligible as a result of the executive order.
Douglas A. Collins Secretary
| U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
In September, the VA sent notifications to veterans who had received upgraded discharges about their potential eligibility for GI Bill benefits. The department encourages all affected veterans to seek an upgrade to their discharge status and apply for education benefits.
VA Secretary Doug Collins stated: “The Biden Administration’s authoritarian COVID mandates upended the lives and livelihoods of thousands of service members and Veterans. We are proud to help implement President Trump’s executive order and make these Veterans whole again.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth added: “One of the most atrocious attacks on our military by the previous administration was the discharging and targeting of perfectly healthy warfighters who refused to take an experimental vaccine implemented by an illegal mandate. We must never let that happen again, and we must also right the wrongs of the past in order to restore trust. We at the Department of War and the VA are grateful for President Trump’s Executive Order reinstating GI Bill benefits for those veterans who were targeted for refusing the illegal COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
Veterans who believe they were discharged inappropriately or whose records reflect errors related to separation under the COVID-19 mandate can request a review from a Discharge Review Board or Board for Correction of Military or Naval Records. More information is available at https://www.milreviewbds.mil/. Once notified that their discharge status has been upgraded to fully honorable, veterans can submit a new claim for education benefits through VA.
Further details on VA education benefits can be found at www.va.gov/education or by calling 888-GIBILL-1.
