A decorated fighter pilot and brigadier general is scheduled to be separated from the U.S. Air Force on December 31, despite a formal finding by the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) that he was unfairly treated in connection with actions and statements related to COVID-era policies. The case centers on Brig. Gen. Christopher Sage, a 31-year Air Force veteran whose removal from a promotion list and pending retirement have drawn attention to how disciplinary reviews, promotion authorities, and internal appeals function inside the military during and after the pandemic period.
Sage’s situation stands out because the BCMR, an administrative body empowered to correct military records when an error or injustice is found, concluded that he “is the victim of an injustice.” That determination was later overridden by a Pentagon official, an outcome his legal counsel describes as exceptionally rare. As a result, Sage remains scheduled for mandatory retirement, despite earlier recommendations that would have extended his service to allow reconsideration for promotion.
The matter dates back to 2021, during Sage’s seventh deployment, when he assumed command at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. According to accounts provided by Sage, COVID-positive airmen were quarantined in a barbed-wire-enclosed structure. He ordered the wire removed and relocated infected personnel to improved quarters with in-room bathrooms. He also ended redundant COVID testing not required by Air Force or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, allowed maintenance personnel to remove masks while working outdoors in extreme heat, and reopened base gyms, making him the first deployed Air Force commander in U.S. Central Command to do so.
Concerns were later raised by a complainant on base, who reported Sage’s actions to an Air Force Inspector General investigator in Washington, D.C. The investigation cited Sage’s actions and his questioning of vaccine safety as evidence that he failed to establish a healthy command climate. Sage said those concerns included myocarditis and fertility issues raised by airmen following vaccination requirements mandated by then–Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. According to Sage, Air Force medical officials told him the vaccine was “100 percent safe.”
To address the allegation of a poor command climate, Sage commissioned a survey of personnel on the base. The results showed that 73 percent of respondents rated their personal morale as “high” or “very high.” Sage said the investigator did not consider the survey results. “This is the sad part. This is how you know you’re outgunned,” he stated.
Additional allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse of military resources were made against Sage but were dismissed without evidence. Even so, the investigator relied on the complainant’s testimony to substantiate claims related to workplace atmosphere. Sage said the investigator declined to interview his commanding officer, a four-star general, or 29 witnesses who supported him. When Sage requested a review by the Department of War Inspector General, the Pentagon directed the Air Force Inspector General to investigate its own work, which Sage described as a conflict of interest. He also said that most of his eight Freedom of Information Act requests related to the investigation have gone unanswered for more than 18 months.
In March 2024, Sage was formally disqualified from promotion to major general by a memorandum bearing President Joe Biden’s signature. Sage and his legal team argue that the document was signed using an autopen and should therefore be void. “Under the law, you can only be a one-star [general] for five years, and you can only be a two-star [general] for five years,” Sage explained. “And so when I was on the promotion list, I was just waiting to promote, just like in a normal process… you go to the board, you make the list, then the president nominates you, and then the Senate confirms you.” Without promotion, Sage’s statutory retirement date was set for December 31.
Sage later quoted a four-star general who commented on the process, saying, “‘One way they deal with people like you is they just wait you out. They just run the shot clock out on you.’” Sage added that this description reflected how the situation felt as deadlines approached.
In November, Sage pointed to a social media post by President Donald Trump stating that any documents signed by President Biden’s autopen would be “terminated.” Referencing that post, Sage said, “Therefore, legally, I should be back on the two star list.”
Momentum appeared to shift when the BCMR reviewed the case. After an Officer Grade Determination found Sage acted honorably, the board stated: “The results were the applicant acted honorably as a brigadier general, including during his deployed command, and he would retain his grade.” A May 7, 2025 memorandum from Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata advised the board to “exercise broad discretion” in correcting records of service members who “suffered harms” related to COVID mandates.
The BCMR concluded that Sage “is the victim of an injustice,” adding, “The majority of the Board finds a preponderance of the evidence substantiates the applicant’s contentions.” Citing Tata’s guidance, the board found that “discussion of the applicant’s views regarding COVID vaccines and mitigation policies during the investigation, and captured in the ROI, may have negatively influenced the outcome of the investigation, which then led to the adverse actions.”
The board recommended overturning the substantiated allegations, removing adverse actions from Sage’s record, and extending his retirement date to allow consideration by a Special Selection Board. The recommendation stated: “The majority of the Board determined this is sufficient to justify granting the applicant’s request to overturn substantiation of the allegation in the SAF/IGS ROI, to remove associated adverse actions from the applicant’s records, and… to provide the applicant the opportunity for a Special Selection Board (SSB) or supplemental consideration for promotion to major general.”
Sage responded to the finding by saying, “The majority of the board concludes that the applicant is the victim of an injustice… Now those are two words that I never, ever want to use when I’m describing myself. I am not a victim. I do not want to be a victim.”
Despite the recommendation, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Richard L. Anderson overruled the board’s decision. Sage said the request to delay his retirement was denied within days. “It got overturned,” he recounted. “And then… we just requested an extension to my retirement because we’re in the eleventh hour… and within a day and a half, they came back and denied it.”
Sage said subsequent outreach to Air Force officials received little response. “They ignored our comments. They have failed to address it,” he said. His attorney, Davis Younts, noted the unusual nature of the outcome: “I’ve been doing this since 2015 — been involved in well over 200 board cases. This is the first time I’ve seen a decision from the board be overturned in a way that hurts the applicant.”
Members of Congress have submitted letters supporting Sage, along with dozens of endorsements from senior enlisted personnel and generals. Separately, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced internal reforms on September 30, stating, “We are attacking and ending the walking on eggshells and zero defect command culture,” and adding, “We are overhauling an inspector general process, the IG, that has been weaponized.”
Sage’s wife, Jessica Sage, published an open letter to President Trump, writing in part: “Despite your bold executive orders to restore common-sense and constitutional order to the military, deeply entrenched obstructionists and lawyers at the Pentagon still attempt to control the narratives—and therefore the decisions.”
Sage said the outcome of his case is being closely watched by other service members affected by COVID-era decisions. “This decision is being watched closely by the hundreds or possibly thousands of COVID-persecuted Airmen,” he said. The Department of War did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
