Dr. Terry Adirim, a former senior defense official known for spearheading the controversial military vaccine mandate, was reportedly dismissed from her position in February 2025, shortly after President Trump assumed office.
Adirim, who held a senior role within the CIA and previously served in the Defense Department under President Biden, was let go by the Trump Administration after her actions purportedly inflicted considerable harm upon the U.S. military and the thousands of service members who opted not to receive the COVID vaccine.
According to an internal memo from VA Deputy Secretary Donald Remy, Adirim left her position on February 25 to “pursue other opportunities” outside the department.
In the interim, Dr. Neil Evans, currently a senior consultant for the Office of Information and Technology, has stepped in to fill her role until a permanent replacement is appointed.
Since December 2021, Adirim had been directing the VA’s electronic health record modernization program.
Investigative journalist Jordan Schachtel from The Dossier revealed that Adirim was responsible for signing an order mandating all service members to receive the emergency use authorization (EUA) COVID vaccine while she was acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, a position she obtained through Biden’s administration.
“While serving as acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Dr. Adirim signed an order compelling service members to receive the EUA vaccine. Her memo sought to rationalize the EUA mandate as if it had received full FDA approval, which it had not then and still has not,” reported The Dossier. “This mandate resulted in numerous vaccine-related injuries, the most severe recruitment crisis since the inception of the all-volunteer military, and led to the discharge of thousands of service members who declined the experimental mRNA vaccine.”
Yet, there’s more to the story—Adirim is also known for her strong Democratic political activism, and as a medical professional, she advocates for “gender-affirming prescriptions” for transgender youth.
Following the controversy surrounding the mRNA vaccine mandate, Adirim was reassigned but ultimately terminated earlier this year.
In January 2025, President Trump ordered full reinstatement for any service member discharged due to the COVID vaccination mandate, restoring them to their previous rank and full pay.
In an unexpected twist, Dr. Adirim is now contesting her dismissal. The architect of a mandate that disrupted countless lives is seeking to reclaim her position!
In a move that can only be described as audacious, she is suing the government, claiming that her due process rights were violated and that she has been unfairly targeted by far-right activists.
Our colleague from , Ivan Raiklin, has been instrumental in bringing attention to Dr. Adirim’s controversial actions that significantly impacted thousands of lives and the operational integrity of the U.S. military.
After her tenure at the Department of Defense, Adirim transitioned to the CIA, and now she is looking to return to her previous role.
Expect the media narrative to frame her as the true victim, rather than focusing on the service members whose lives and careers were adversely affected by her decisions.
