Recruiting and retention in the military will continue to suffer until there’s accountability for the way that the Pentagon handled the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to former naval officer and Senate hopeful Hung Cao.
Mr. Cao, a retired Navy combat veteran of 25 years, is seeking the 2024 Republican nomination in Virginia to challenge Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine. In 2022, he ran an unsuccessful bid for a blue-leaning northern Virginia U.S. House seat. He’s a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a special operations officer throughout his military career.
Mr. Cao spoke to The Epoch Times about his concerns with military recruitment and “wokeness” in the military. The veteran credited his wife for encouraging him to continue to serve his country beyond his accomplished military career.
“I have close friends that served in combat with me, and now they’re being called traitors for refusing to take the [COVID-19] vaccine,” he said. Although Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s August 2021 vaccine mandate was officially rescinded in January, thousands of service members were “kicked out,” and those who remain in service continue to be criticized for refusing to take an “experimental vaccine,” he said.
Mr. Cao pointed to a June 2022 leaked internal memo by the Pentagon’s acting inspector general that found in the department’s denial of religious accommodation requests pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate “a trend of generalized assessments rather than the individualized assessment” required by law and policies.
“We’ve left thousands behind in the streets because we didn’t honor their religious exemption,” he said, referencing the military’s well-known motto “no man left behind.”
Mr. Cao said he’s heard many stories of service members who were separated from the military.
Recruitment Woes
Mr. Cao praised those who took a stand against the vaccine mandate, suggesting that these are the kind of people whom the country needs in its military. “Instead, we’ve demonized them,” he said.That has had an effect on younger generations, Mr. Cao said. Potential recruits are questioning the decisions of senior military leadership—from the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal to the enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, he said, and some parents are no longer encouraging their children to serve.
Mr. Cao faults poor decision-making by senior military leadership for dissuading “the best and the brightest” from wanting to serve their country.
In addition to that, “wokeness is not going to play very well with the one demographic we should be trying to recruit,“ he said, pointing to ”alpha males and alpha females“—the types of people who ”win wars.”
To improve recruiting and retention, Mr. Cao said that the U.S. military must remain focused on “the best and brightest people.” The armed services also needs to show that “we’re going to take good care of them,” he said.
Regarding the physical and emotional harm caused by a once-mandated COVID-19 vaccination, Mr. Cao said that “leaders need to admit they were wrong [to enforce the vaccine mandate].”
“And quite honestly, in the military, when something goes bad, people get fired,” he said.
Someone must be held accountable, Mr. Cao said.
“That’s the burden of command, to accept full responsibility and not let things happen like this on your watch,” he said.
In addition, Mr. Cao said, “somebody needs to apologize and make it right for these people that got kicked out for refusing the vaccine, were forced to retire at a lower rank, or were punished while serving.”
He said that for him, “the only way you can show that you messed up and are willing to fix the problem is by admitting you were wrong and owning up to it.”
The Pentagon didn’t respond to a request for comment.
