As President-elect Trump draws in on Inauguration Day, his transition team readies themselves to shake up the Pentagon. According to one source, there is "a very detailed list" of U.S. military officers to be fired soon after Trump takes office.
While "wokeness" in the military has been a topic of contention throughout the Biden/Harris years, so has the Pentagon's COVID "vaccine" mandate that resulted in thousands of service members being booted from the military. One of those is John Frankman, who recently spoke with American Family News.
Frankman had the opportunity to speak to the GOP presidential candidate at a town hall meeting for veterans last month. The former Special Forces Green Beret was able to share with Trump that he was forced out of the Army as a result of the now-rescinded military shot mandate.
After Frankman informed Trump he never took the jab, the former president asked Frankman (Note: profanity in link) if he would ever consider rejoining the military:
Trump: "Would you go back in [to the military] if they were able to …?"
Frankman: "As long as there's accountability, potentially."
Trump: "Yeah … there would be accountability, is right. We'll fire their a***s."
According to a Reuters report, Trump’s transition team has already begun compiling a list of military officers to fire. A subsequent X post by retired Army warrant officer and independent journalist, Sam Shoemate, reveals that he is one of the individuals who received “an unexpected phone” from someone possibly on that team, asking him to help develop the list.
For Frankman, Shoemate and many others, Trump’s effort is the essence of what they hoped would happen to senior military leaders and others involved not only the failed Afghanistan withdrawal or the rampant spread of "woke" ideology, but also the tyrannical enforcement of an illegal COVID-19 shot mandate between August 2021 and January 2023.
Frankman admits he wouldn't be surprised by an executive order at “the very start” of Trump’s second term addressing the needs of service members who were adversely affected by the shot mandate. However, an executive order or more legislation is not necessarily the answer, he argues.
“Laws were already broken and violated, so there has to be an additional fix,” he tells AFN. “Many service members like me don’t feel like firing people is going to go far enough to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
Because laws were blatantly broken, he and others consider the courts-martial of many in military leadership positions to be the necessary step.
Willing to help 'repair the damage'
This is exactly why Frankman is one 231 signatories who signed the Declaration of Military Accountability on January 1, 2024, pleading to hold military leaders accountable for “[failing] to follow the law when their leadership and moral courage was most desperately needed.” Over 38,000 other individuals have joined their effort by signing an accompanying petition.
“The mandate was extremely harmful to the military, forcing thousands out and discouraging thousands from wanting to join,” Frankman explains. “Most people don’t understand just how poorly service members were treated throughout the whole entirety of the COVID risk mitigation policy fiasco.”
Examples, according to the former Green Beret, included discrimination, punishment, restrictions of movement, the loss of career opportunities, and more.
Frankman maintains that “repairing the damage” from the shot mandate should be a top priority for Trump’s new administration. He is hopeful about the future of the military because the president-elect expressed to him that “the mandate should have never happened and that he wants service members back in, with backpay and an apology.”
While Frankman believes Trump is being genuine, he tells AFN he would gladly offer his help to assist the new administration in navigating the steps necessary to achieve accountability. He also offers the help of many of his fellow service members who stand ready to assist.
“If Trump would call on us, we could give him a better understanding of what happened and what needs to happen,” he states.
Among those in Congress who "really get it," Frankman names Reps. Cory Mills (R-FL) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), and the recently resigned Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) – Trump's designee for U.S. attorney general.
