Hegseth Swears In Air Force General After Vaccine-Mandated Early Retirement

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed Air Force Brig. Gen. Melissa S. Cunningham back into the Air Force during a swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon, Oct. 23.

Cunningham was forced to retire from service in August 2022 after declining to take the military's then-mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.

"What a wonderful thing it is to be standing here right now with you, with the stance that you've taken," Hegseth told Cunningham at the ceremony's outset.

"Not only did you take a private stand in a very principled way as a warrior of conscience, but you led the way for others … and you stood courageously beside [your principles] on your faith, … which truly speaks to your character and [is] exactly, precisely, the kind of person we want to be bringing back," he added.

The drive to get service members who were forced out of the military during the coronavirus pandemic back into uniform began with President Donald J. Trump signing Executive Order 14184 last year, which ordered the secretaries of war and homeland security to reinstate all members of the military, active and reserve, who were discharged solely for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and who requested reinstatement.

Following the order, Hegseth implemented the one-year reinstatement policy and then extended it an additional year in March.

During his remarks, Hegseth acknowledged that the process of reinstating service members who had refused the vaccine has been challenging, but that it's been worth it.

Between 8,000-8,700 service members were voluntarily and involuntarily discharged or separated for refusing the vaccine between August 2021 and January 2023. Since Trump signed his executive order, 608 of those service members have returned to active duty.

"Those of you that have been here know [the reinstatement process] has not been an easy one, and it's not been a smooth one. … I just know that, from Day 1, we said, 'We will do this.' And, from Day 2, we said, 'The only way we lose is if we quit, if we stop trying to improve the process [and] if we stop trying to find the warriors,'" Hegseth explained.

In jest, upon seeing the reinstatement ceremony on his schedule, Hegseth said he rejoiced in knowing that he finally had a positive meeting on his calendar.

"I was just so thrilled to see that this is happening. … And I just want to recognize the incredible work of so many people that have been involved - known and unknown, seen and unseen, publicly and privately, in uniform [and] out of uniform - and it was all worth it because you got someone of [Cunningham's] caliber [reinstated]," Hegseth said.

Following her swearing in, 26-year veteran Cunningham expressed deep gratitude to God and numerous others - the president and Hegseth among them - for working to get her and other similarly discharged service members reinstated. She also called on motivated service members who might not have applied for reinstatement yet to pursue that course of action.

"We need leaders, those courageous warriors [of] moral conscience, to return," she said. "The threats that our nation faces require bold, critical thinkers, and we need them back in the ranks."

She added that she was making a plea for those who were harmed by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to help her lay a firm foundation in the military and "help repair the breach" that was left by all the forced discharges during the pandemic.

"Because your spiritual fortitude, your character and your courage are greatly needed in this hour, and our nation demands it," she said. "I am so fired up to be back."