Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has welcomed back an Air Force general who was forced to retire because she did not want to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it was mandated during the pandemic, the Department of War said on Oct. 27.

Hegseth, during a ceremony at the Pentagon on Oct. 23, swore Air Force Brig. Gen. Melissa Cunningham back into the service. Cunningham was forced to retire in the fall of 2022 after refusing the vaccine.

"What a wonderful thing it is to be standing here right now with you, with the stance that you've taken," Hegseth said, according to the Pentagon.

"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."

Hegseth said that Cunningham "stood courageously" behind her principles and faith, telling her it "truly speaks to your character" and that she's "exactly, precisely, the kind of person we want to be bringing back."

Cunningham said that she was thankful for President Donald Trump, Hegseth, and others who worked to reinstate her and others who left the force or were discharged over COVID-19 vaccine refusal.

"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."

Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, acting on the direction from then-President Joe Biden, imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 2021. More than 8,000 service members were discharged after declining to receive a vaccine, and others retired rather than receive the shot.

Trump in early 2025, shortly after his second term began, signed an order that said the mandate "was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members" and directed the military to bring back any troops who requested to be reinstated.

Hegseth initially said the reinstatement policy would take one year to implement. He extended it another year in March.

Some 608 discharged members have returned to active duty so far, the Department of War said on Tuesday.

Hegseth said during the recent ceremony that bringing back discharged service members has not been easy or smooth, but officials will persist.

"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," he said.