The Newest Branch – Held to the Same Mandate
The U.S. Space Force was barely two years old when the Department of Defense issued its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in August 2021. As a Department of the Air Force service, the Space Force applied the same vaccination policy, the same religious accommodation process, and the same separation procedures the Air Force used. For a small, highly technical force of Guardians – many transferred in from the Air Force with years of prior service – that meant the same career-ending consequences for refusing the shot.
Guardians who declined the COVID-19 vaccine, whether for sincerely held religious beliefs or other lawful reasons, were processed for separation just like their Air Force counterparts. Even though the total number of Space Force separations was small in absolute terms, every single discharge represented the loss of a highly specialized career in space operations, intelligence, cyber, or acquisitions. When Congress rescinded the mandate in January 2023, there was no automatic reinstatement and no automatic back pay. The remedy must be pursued – and it now is, in federal court.
Bassen v. United States: How Former Guardians Can Recover Back Pay
Bassen et al. v. United States is a class action filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of approximately 8,500 active-duty service members – including Guardians – 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. That includes active-duty Space Force Guardians, and Guardians whose prior Air Force service was counted toward their retirement and benefits at the time of separation.
Lead attorney Dale Saran is a retired military officer with years of experience representing service members in claims against the federal government. The Bassen team understands the unique posture of the Space Force as a newly-stood-up branch and the implications that have for service computation, pay records, and personnel actions that may need to be corrected.
What Former Guardians May Be Owed
Every Guardian’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 Cyber Skills Incentive Pay, Special Duty Assignment Pay, Aviation Incentive Pay, Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus, and others; Basic Allowance for Housing and Subsistence; retirement benefits – especially for Guardians whose combined Air Force / Space Force service put them within striking distance of 20 years; enlistment and reenlistment bonuses that were clawed back; and correction of military records, including discharge characterization, separation code, and reentry code.
The Bassen case seeks to make that right.
How to Join the Case
If you are a former service member 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.
Think you qualify? Visit militarybackpay.com to complete the opt-in form.
