EXCLUSIVE: A Senior Military Officer Speaks Out About Being Fired Over the COVID Shot

One of the most senior ranking military officers to refuse the COVID shot is still being denied earned benefits even after Congress passed a bill to right these wrongs. U.S. Navy Reserve Captain Bill Sullivan was fired from his commanding officer position and forced to retire early and give up education benefits for his children (valued at $100,000) that he earned through his 25 years of honorable military service.

CAPT Sullivan served an astounding 7 times as commanding officer of reserve units and was nominated for the Legion of Merit medal—an esteemed award for exceptional meritorious conduct. He was forced out of the military before he could be given the medal.

When the military COVID vaccination mandate was instituted in 2021, the FDA had not yet given full approval for the use of the drugs. CAPT Sullivan was concerned about the lasting health implications of taking an experimental vaccine.

“I watched the VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System] data to gauge safety and by March 2021 it was clear there was a problem,” he told Restoration News. “Even before the shot became mandatory for [the Defense Department], I attempted to persuade my fellow O6 commanding officers and a flag officer that the shot was displaying danger signals. After the mandate, I tried to convince the highest ranking JAGs that the order was unlawful. Everything fell on deaf ears.  It was astounding.”  Sullivan’s decision to refuse the shot led directly to officials forcing him out of the Navy. He witnessed one of the Navy’s high-ranking officers explain to his chaplain that no religious exemptions would be approved, a signal to Sullivan that he shouldn’t even try to obtain one.

According to CAPT Sullivan, “The rush to adjudicate non-vaccinated members was so chaotic that at one point they were even telling us our retirement would not be processed unless we were COVID-vaccinated.”

On Oct. 13, 2021, the Navy issued an order that all servicemembers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 28 for active duty members and Dec. 28 for reservists. The directive also stated that “a history of COVID-19 disease and/or positive serology does not exempt a Navy service member from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.” Translation: If a military member recently had COVID, they would still not be exempt.

Military leadership was especially harsh on senior leaders who refused the vaccination. CAPT Sullivan received official orders on Nov. 12, 2021, relieving him of his command and transferring him to inactive status. Just 15 days later he received notice of his end of service and forced retirement.

CAPT Sullivan did not want to end his career, yet he was forced to relinquish his children’s education benefits in order to receive any retirement pay. When he signed the relinquishment documents he added “V.C.,” short for vi coactus, a Latin phrase meaning “having been forced.” He wanted it known that he was signing under duress to meet the forced retirement timeline.

CAPT Sullivan may be the senior most military member to be fired for refusing the shot. He told me, “It was my duty not to follow or enforce what was clearly an unlawful order and to protect me and my sailors to the best of my ability.”

He contends that just because you’re in the military, you don’t give up the freedom to make decisions about your own bodies. Other great patriots who stood against the COVID vaccination mandate was a group of Navy SEALS and other special forces members.

Earlier this year, 35 special forces members sued the military (U.S. Navy SEALS I-26 v. Biden) alleging a violation of their religious freedom. The district court and appeals court both sided with the SEALS, noting the Navy had not given even a single accommodation to any religious objections for vaccines—in 7 years. 

The Supreme Court gave the Navy a partial stay; but after Congress passed legislation requiring Secretary Austin to consider reinstatement of servicemembers who refused the vaccine, the government settled with the SEALS.

The settlement agreement impacted over 4,300 military members. Military records must have any negative language pertaining to the COVID vaccine removed and any discharges for misconduct will be reversed. Members impacted by the settlement who were discharged will be permitted to rejoin the Navy.

That’s a big win… but there is still more work to be done to aid those heroes not included in the settlement, including Sullivan.

Recruitment and Morale Remain Dangerously Low

In 2021, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin discharged more than 8,000 fully trained servicemembers due to their refusal to take an experimental COVID “vaccine.” The military is still suffering the consequences of this decision.

Recruitment numbers and morale are low and continue to decline across all branches of the United States military. In fiscal year 2023, the Army and Navy only attained 68 and 63 percent of their recruitment goals, respectively, while the Air Force failed to reach its recruitment goals for the first time since 1999.

At the same time, the number of total active-duty military members has declined by 39 percent since 1987. A 2023 survey of Navy sailors indicates that morale is much lower than in 2019, while stress and burnout levels have severely increased.

In 2024, Congress passed a bill that permits those discharged for refusing the COVID shot to have their personnel files corrected and receive full retirement benefits. Yet many servicemembers like CAPT Sullivan who were forced to retire early are still fighting for these earned benefits. CAPT Sullivan served our nation honorably for 25 years and he is entitled to the compensation he was promised for that service. He loves this nation. “If given the opportunity, I’d serve again,” he says.

As the military spouse of a retired officer of 30 years, this writer has watched the esprit de corps in our nation’s military steadily decline. The camaraderie is not the same as it once was. Blame the DEI programs which have divided military members into groups based on race, gender, and sexual identity. Our military is still the finest in the world, but it is broken.

The United States needs a strong leader in the Department of Defense who will value the health, well-being, and freedoms of our servicemembers. We need unity, not division in our military. Servicemembers must be valued with more than financial compensation and those who were forced out and punished during COVID must receive justice.

(READ MORE: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Discover a Spy in the Pentagon—and Give Her a Promotion)