Editor's Note: The Sentinel has released the first installment of SEALs Beat Biden, a documentary series that tells the story of the Navy SEALs and other service members who resisted the Biden military vaccine mandate. Watch the series for free here.

Army recruiters are contacting troops who were involuntarily separated from the military due to the vaccine mandate, informing them that they can now apply to rejoin.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated two years ago that all service members under Pentagon authority receive COVID vaccinations, an order which was reversed at the beginning of this year only after thousands were forced out of their positions and denied their constitutional right to apply for religious accommodations. The invitation to reconsider service in the Army comes as the military endures severe recruitment shortfalls.

“Individuals may request a correction to military personnel records, including records regarding the characterization of discharge,” Brigadier General Hope Rampy, the director of Military Personnel Management, wrote in a letter widely circulated on social media. Rampy added that individuals who wished to rejoin the service were welcome to apply at a local recruiting office.

Veterans and conservative policymakers expressed their disdain for the letter as images of the document went viral. “What about reinstating them at rank and paying them with back pay?” asked Representative Ben Cline, a Republican from Virginia. “People’s careers, their lives were messed with,” added John Frankman, a former Army Green Beret. “No one who was treated this poorly is going to want to return. I can guarantee you that."

The Army missed recruitment targets by 10,000 soldiers this year, causing the branch to promise “sweeping changes” in policies to bolster their ranks. The lack of recruits is in large part due to the Biden administration’s perceived politicization of the military, as well as a lack of eligibility among Americans with issues like obesity and poor mental fitness.

Fallout from the COVID vaccine controversy has also contributed to hesitance among potential recruits. Several lawmakers sent a letter last month to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough requesting information on how the agency will handle disabilities resulting from the vaccine, as well as whether the agency will investigate reports of vaccine injuries.

Only forty-three of the more than 8,000 troops involuntarily separated over the vaccine have expressed desire to rejoin the military, according to one report, with a mere nineteen soldiers rejoining the Army and some twelve Marines reenlisting.