The Marine Corps Stood Firm on the Mandate – So Did Marines Who Refused
The U.S. Marine Corps had one of the most visible and contentious vaccine mandate enforcement efforts in the entire military. Marines who chose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine – many citing religious convictions, others citing concerns about EUA-status vaccines – were subjected to separation proceedings that moved swiftly and left little room for appeal. The Corps discharged thousands over vaccine refusal which represented a significant fraction of the total separations across all services.
For many of those Marines, careers built over years of deployments, combat service, and sacrifice were ended not by enemy fire or injury – but by a syringe they declined to accept. And when Congress rescinded the mandate in January 2023, there was no automatic remedy. Marines had to fight for what they were owed. That fight is now in federal court.
Bassen v. United States: How Marines Can Get Their Back Pay
Bassen et al. v. United States is a class action case filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of approximately 8,500 active-duty service members – including Marines – who were involuntarily discharged or forced into early retirement due to their unvaccinated status under the DoD mandate. The case was filed by Military Back Pay PLLC on behalf of all former non-Coast Guard service members who were on Title 10 active-duty orders at the time of their separation.
Lead attorney Dale Saran is himself a retired Marine, which means the team representing Marine plaintiffs understands not just the law, but the culture, the sacrifice, and what it means to be cut off from a career you gave everything to.
What Former Marines May Be Owed
Every Marine’s situation is different, but the categories of potential recovery in Bassen include: base pay from the date of wrongful discharge through what would have been normal separation or retirement; all special and incentive pays, including hazardous duty pay, sea pay, aviation career incentive pay, and others; Basic Allowance for Housing and Subsistence; retirement benefits, especially for those who were within striking distance of 20-year service; enlistment or reenlistment bonuses that were clawed back; and correction of military records.
For E-7s, E-8s, E-9s, and officers in the middle of a career, the numbers can be staggering. A Staff Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant separated with 12 to 15 years of service, for instance, had their retirement essentially stolen from them. The Bassen case seeks to make that right.
Religious Accommodations: A System Designed to Fail
The Marine Corps denied virtually all religious accommodation requests during the mandate period. If you submitted a sincere religious accommodation request that was denied – as almost all were – that denial is relevant to your claim.
How to Join the Bassen Case
If you are a former active-duty Marine who was discharged, constructively separated, or forced into early retirement between August 24, 2021 and January 10, 2023 due to refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine, visit militarybackpay.com to complete the free opt-in form. There is no upfront cost, no obligation to return to service, and no risk in getting your case reviewed. Our attorneys will let you know what you may be owed.
The Marines who led the charge against this mandate deserve the same resolve in recovering what is rightfully theirs. We’re ready to fight that battle in court.
Think you qualify? Visit militarybackpay.com to complete the opt-in form at no cost. Our attorneys will review your case and let you know what you may be owed.
