Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on Thursday wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking him to look into the case highlighted by Breitbart News of an Army Black Hawk pilot facing discharge next month stemming from the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate nearly four years ago.
“I’m asking @SecDef to look into CW3 Budge’s case. Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate was unconstitutional, and none of our service members should face termination over it—especially not years after the fact,” Biggs posted on X, along with the letter.
The letter, addressed to Hegseth, read:
Dear Secretary Hegseth: I am deeply troubled by reports that an Army Black Hawk pilot is facing discharge next month for refusing to comply with the unconstitutional COVID-19 vaccine mandate’. Under the Biden administration, our military was weaponized against its own service members, forcing them to choose between their personal convictions and their careers.
In this case, a medic allegedly entered a false record indicating the pilot received the vaccine— something he was completely unaware of and learned upon receiving the vaccine. If this is true, this means the service member is being punished for a misrepresentation that was entirely out of his control, which is unjust and unacceptable, and wouldn’t have happened were it not for the
initial mandate.I urge you to launch an immediate investigation into what truly happened in this case and others like it. No one should lose their career due to falsified records they had no knowledge of or involvement in. Our military must operate with integrity and fairness, and service members
deserve due process before being discharged under such circumstances.I respectfully request an update on the status of this case and any actions being taken to ensure that no service member is wrongfully discharged due to actions taken without their knowledge or
fault.
Biden Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered that every service member take the coronavirus vaccine or be kicked out of the military, resulting in more than 8,000 troops being involuntary discharged, and an estimated tens of thousands more choosing to leave and not reenlist.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would allow those who were forced out over the vaccine mandate the ability to reenlist with a restoration to their rank and backpay. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum directing the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to implement the executive order.
However, in the case of the pilot, Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Budge, he is currently serving but is due to be forced out next month over allegations related to the vaccine mandate.
As Breitbart News reported Thursday, Budge resisted getting vaccinated with the emergency use authorized drug available to troops at the time, much to the ire of his command.
A medic entered a falsely entered on his medical record that he was vaccinated when he was not, despite him not requesting it, according to Budge.
Army Black Hawk pilot Brandon Budge is facing discharge next month stemming from the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate nearly four years ago. (Supplied)
He later did get vaccinated, after he was scheduled to deploy to South Korea and was told he could not come home if something happened to his wife, who was pregnant with their eighth child without being quarantined for two weeks first.
Budge went to get vaccinated, which was when he discovered the false entry. His command punished him for knowing about the entry and not correcting it — despite him being vaccinated. He was issued a general officer memorandum of reprimand, or a GOMOR, which is a career-damaging letter of reprimand for serious misconduct.
Budge fought the allegation to no avail, and is due to be kicked out on April 30, 2025.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George called Budge on Wednesday morning to say that he was looking into his case, according to his spokesman Army Col. Dave Butler.
Butler also said George had ordered that all GOMORs related to the vaccine mandate be reviewed.
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