Justice for Soldiers Discharged for Refusing the COVID 19 Vaccine

The U.S. Army has officially granted full reinstatement to former First Lieutenant Mark Bashaw, retroactively promoted to Captain, after Undersecretary of War Anthony J. Tata personally intervened to address “last-mile” delays in the reinstatement process.

Undersecretary Tata announced the action on X, formerly Twitter:

On Monday, @MCBashaw emailed me about several last-minute issues in the COVID reinstatement process. We immediately convened @USArmy leaders to address them. At this stage, any delay is unacceptable. We are committed to reinstating our affected soldiers as soon as possible.

He later added that the Army and the Department of War were working directly with Kevin Bouren and Mark Bashaw to resolve any remaining concerns, noting that not all corrective efforts are visible to the public, but that “they are steadily taking place behind the scenes.”

Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer and intelligence officer Sam Shoemate responded to Undersecretary Tata’s announcement: “I spoke with [Bashaw]. You definitely put a lot of pressure on them to take care of him. The problem is, it shouldn’t take the Undersecretary of the Department of War to make that happen.”

The reinstatement follows months of complaints from service members who were promised relief after President Trump’s Executive Order 14184, signed earlier this year, which directed the Pentagon to reinstate all troops discharged solely for refusing the experimental COVID-19 injections under the Biden regime.

The policy was implemented by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, requiring the Department of Defense to offer reinstatement and full restoration of benefits to all affected personnel.

Gateway Pundit has followed Bashaw’s story since 2023. A devout Christian and former Army public health officer, Bashaw was among the first whistleblowers to warn military leaders and Congress that the COVID vaccines, masks, and testing mandates violated the law governing Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) products.

When he refused to comply, Bashaw faced retaliation from his commander, Major General Robert Edmonson, who in January 2022 ordered a military trial—an extraordinary measure against a decorated officer with 16 years of honorable service.

January 18, 2022: Major General Robert Edmonson convened a special court-martial against Bashaw for refusing COVID testing and mask mandates.
April 29, 2022: Judge Robert Cohen found Bashaw guilty but imposed no punishment, praised his 16 years of honorable service, and urged that the charges be dropped.
June 26, 2023: Despite the judge’s recommendation and the rescission of the mandate, the Army involuntarily discharged Bashaw after 573 days of retaliation.
2023–2024: Bashaw filed formal complaints against Edmonson, alleging violations of Articles 132 and 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ): retaliation and failure to obey lawful orders.

In interviews with The Gateway Pundit, Bashaw described enduring 573 days of retaliation for fulfilling his sworn duty to report health and safety risks through his chain of command:

“My duty as a military medical officer was to properly communicate issues through the chain of command, which I did. After that, they retaliated against me for a total of 573 days before illegally discharging me.”

Bashaw later filed a UCMJ complaint against Major General Edmonson, accusing him of violating Article 132, which prohibits retaliation against service members for protected whistleblower communications, and Article 92, for failure to obey lawful orders or regulations.

“Commanders who knowingly violated the UCMJ by retaliating against service members who submitted protected communications must be held accountable for their actions,” Bashaw told The Gateway Pundit. “We are at a point where trust in our institutional leaders is at an all-time low. General Charles Hamilton has a duty to take appropriate action regarding this criminal complaint and the evidence it contains.”