Of all the indignities and outright tyranny forced on the American people during the coronavirus pandemic — lockdowns, school closures, masking, leaving people to die without loved ones permitted to be by their side — mandating that young, healthy military personnel choose between COVID vaccination or discharge was very high on the list.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the military-wide vaccine mandate on January 10, 2023 — too little too late after roughly a year and a half of requiring it, and then only after congressional Republicans forced his hand.

Notably, the U.S. Army recently sent a letter to roughly 1,900 discharged unvaxxed Soldiers all but begging them to come back. The Air Force sent a similar letter.

The Army letter outlined “new Army guidance regarding the correction of military records for former members of the Army following the rescission of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.” It notified recipients, “As a result of the rescission of all current COVID-19 vaccination requirements, former Soldiers who were involuntarily separated for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination may request a correction of their military records from either or both the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) or the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR).”

In other words, Oops, sorry we ruined your military career. Please come back, baby, it’ll be different this time, we swear.

Joe Biden’s military is certainly suffering a recruitment and readiness crisis. The Army is at its smallest since 1940, and missed its recruitment goal for the last two years. “In the fiscal year that just ended,” reports The Washington Times, “the Army brought in about 55,000 recruits — 10,000 short of its goal of 65,000.” The Navy and Air Force face similar troubles.

Part of that shortfall is because fewer Americans are physically healthy enough to serve (a double irony given the vax mandate on those who did clear that bar). The Pentagon blames other factors, too, like Biden’s supposedly fantastic economy providing other opportunities. Blame goes everywhere but the Biden administration’s woke DEI initiatives and “white supremacist” witch hunts that are turning off the most obvious military recruits.

On the one hand, the administration claims to be inoculating the troops against a virus. On the other hand, Team Biden is hell-bent on pushing its social contagion.

Those policies constitute willful destruction of our Patriot Armed Forces.

During a recruitment crisis, it’s probably not a great idea to tell healthy young people they can’t enter service or continue to serve without the jab.

As for removals, a couple of former Soldiers who publicized the letter over the weekend claimed, “Around 8,000 soldiers were kicked out for not getting the vaccine, which is a lot even if you don’t take the context of the recruiting crisis into account.” The difference between 8,000 and the 1,900 letter recipients is likely the meaning of “kicked out” — many more Soldiers voluntarily resigned rather than wait to be, as the letter put it, “involuntarily separated.”

“Thousands of troops unsuccessfully sought religious exemptions from the inoculation,” reports Fox News, “including 8,945 soldiers, 10,800 airmen and guardians, 4,172 sailors, and 3,717 Marines.” The religious claims were arguably dubious — unless it meant opting out of the Covidian cult — but it was the only resort many thought they had.

Finally, inquiring minds might want to know if any Soldiers took up the Army’s offer. Prior to the letter, just 43 former personnel had requested rejoining any branch. Something tells us begging won’t help the Pentagon regain any honor.