The Marine Corps is being asked by four members of Congress, led by a practicing doctor from North Carolina, to reach out to and return thousands of Marines expelled because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Wednesday’s letter to Gen. David Berger, commandant of the Marines, cited “unprecedented recruiting challenges your service and the entire Department of Defense is experiencing.” The letter noted the repeal of the vaccine mandate – by bipartisan support – and recognized the ability of those who could potentially be available for “positions where their Military Occupational Specialty expertise is of critical need.”

North Carolina Republican Rep. Greg Murphy, the only practicing physician in Congress, authored the letter alongside Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Max Miller, R-Ohio. Bost is chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

[It’s long overdue. It never should have happened in the first place. — Ed]