Military Branches Bring Back Vaccine Mandate After Virus Outbreak On Base

The Pentagon is reinstating the flu vaccine mandate for the Army, Navy, and Air Force following a recent outbreak.

The Army is planning to broaden the requirement to include overseas troops, first responders, prison staff, health care personnel, and child care workers, according to ABC News. 

The mandate has been a longstanding Pentagon policy since 1945. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lifted the requirement two months ago. While he encouraged soldiers to take the vaccine, Hegseth announced, “We will not force you.” 

He previously characterized universal shots as “absurd, overreaching mandates that only weaken our warfighting capabilities” and claimed the rollback restored “medical autonomy” to troops.

At least 222 recruits at Joint Base San Antonio have been diagnosed with influenza, with four hospitalizations. The conditions of the training base make illnesses easy to spread. Recruits routinely live and sleep in tightly packed spaces, shower together, and are subject to stress and exhaustion.

New recruit Keon McDaniel died June 16, prompting a strong public reaction. He was treated at Brooke Army Medical Center. McDaniel was in his sixth week of basic training when he died.

The cause of McDaniel’s death remains under investigation, but several critics believe it is linked to the outbreak. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro blamed Hegseth for the outbreak and McDaniel’s death in a social media post last week.

“After Secretary Hegseth scrapped the military’s flu vaccine mandate, it was only a matter of time before an outbreak occurred. It was a reckless decision that put troops in harm’s way and undermined our military readiness,” Castro posted, in part.

After Secretary Hegseth scrapped the military’s flu vaccine mandate, it was only a matter of time before an outbreak occurred. It was a reckless decision that put troops in harm’s way and undermined our military readiness. At the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, nearly 160… https://t.co/yvMGxcMwBr

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) June 19, 2026

Some high-ranking Republicans were also critical of Hegseth for relaxing the mandate. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker publicly called Hegseth’s rollback a “mistake,” stating that mandatory vaccines historically created a healthier armed force.

When the outbreak began, roughly 40% of new Air Force trainees had been vaccinated at Joint Base San Antonio.

Due to the rapid nature of the situation, the Air Force requested that Hegseth bypass standard protocols for an emergency policy exemption. Hegseth granted exemptions to all military departments immediately.

This is not the first time the mandate has wavered. While first introduced in 1945, the military temporarily withdrew the requirement in 1949 because early vaccine formulas struggled to adapt to changing viral strains. It was reinstated permanently in the 1950s.