Pentagon Reverses Course on Flu Vaccine: Boot Camp Mandate Returns After Outbreak

A flu outbreak sickening over 200 recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has forced the Pentagon to reinstate flu vaccination mandates for boot camp trainees. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had made the shots optional military-wide, but the dense, transient conditions of recruit training—soldiers from across the country living in close quarters—demanded an exception. The policy remains voluntary elsewhere, balancing outbreak containment against the administration's vaccine skepticism.