Military discharge

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A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from his or her obligation to serve.

Contents

[edit] Military discharge in the United States

An enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces may be relieved of active or reserve duty through one of three methods: separation, discharge, or entry into a commissioning program. While an enlisted member's military service obligation (MSO) is 8 years, the initial enlistment contract itself normally does not exceed 6 years, with the remainder being served in either the reserve component of the service branch under which he or she enlisted, or in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) as an inactive (non-drilling) reservist.


[edit] Reasons For Discharge

Contrary to the popular belief, the vast majority of those leaving the service after completing an initial enlistment are separated rather than discharged. The key difference lies in that a discharge completely alleviates the veteran of any unfulfilled military service obligation, whereas a separation (which may be voluntary or involuntary) may leave an additional unfulfilled military service obligation (MSO) to be carried out in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Nonetheless, approximately one in three recruits will fail to complete their first enlistment in the US military.

Below are some of the most common reasons for discharge:

  • Expiration of Term of Service (ETS)
  • Disability, Dependency, or Hardship
  • Pregnancy/Parenthood
  • Physical or Mental Conditions that interfere with military service
  • Convenience of The Government/Secretarial Authority
  • Unsuitability
  • Misconduct - Minor Disciplinary Infractions
  • Entry-Level Performance and Conduct


If discharged for any of the above reasons, the servicemember will normally receive an honorable or a general (under honorable conditions) discharge.

[edit] Types of discharge

[edit] Honorable

To receive an honorable discharge, a service member must have received a rating from good to excellent for his or her service. Service members who meet or exceed the required standards of duty performance and personal conduct, and who complete their tours of duty, normally receive honorable discharges, however, one need not complete his or her term of service to receive an honorable discharge, provided the reason for involuntary discharge is not due to misconduct. For instance, a person rendered physically or psychologically incapable of performing his or her assigned duties will normally have his service characterized as honorable, regardless of whether the condition or disability was incurred in the line of duty, provided he or she otherwise exceeded standards.

An honorable discharge can, on rare occasions, be granted to a former service member (whose service was characterized as less than honorable) as an act of clemency, should that person display exemplary post-service conduct and show evidence of outstanding post-service achievement in areas such as education and employment.

[edit] General (Under Honorable Conditions)

General discharges are given to servicemembers whose performance is satisfactory but is marked by a considerable departure in duty performance and conduct expected of military members. Reasons for such a characterization of service vary, but are always preceded by some form of nonjudicial punishment utilized by the unit commander as a means to correct unacceptable behavior prior to initiating discharge action (unless the reason is homosexual conduct or drug abuse, in which case discharge is mandatory). A commander must disclose to the servicemember in writing why he is initiating discharge action, and will further explain the reason he is recommending service be characterized as General (Under Honorable Conditions). The servicemember is normally required to sign a statement acknowledging receipt and understanding of the notification of pending discharge memorandum. He is also advised of his right to seek counsel and present statements on his behalf.

In addition, servicemembers are required to sign documents acknowledging that "substantial prejudice in civilian life" may be encountered under a general discharge. [1] Despite this, some personnel think because the discharge is described as general under honorable conditions, it is as good as or the same as an honorable discharge. However, a general discharge may preclude participation in the GI Bill, service on veteran's commissions, and other programs where a fully-honorable discharge is required.

Another common misunderstanding is that a general discharge will be automatically upgraded after 6 months' time. While a veteran is eligible to appeal for an honorable discharge after 6 months, upgrade is neither guaranteed nor automatic. In fact, only a slim percentage of those who appeal a general discharge will have their discharge upgraded to honorable, and many more will never file an appeal for various reasons.

[edit] Other Than Honorable (OTH)

An Other Than Honorable Discharge is the most severe of administrative discharges. This type of discharge represents a serious departure from the conduct and performance expected of all military members. OTH discharges are typically given to servicemembers convicted by a civil court in which a sentence of confinement has been adjudged or in which the conduct leading to the conviction brings discredit upon the service; other-than-honorable discharges are often accepted in-lieu of court-martial. Persons facing an OTH discharge are guaranteed, by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the right to be tried by court-martial, however, many choose administrative discharge rather than face the possibility of a court-martial conviction (and thus the stigma of the Bad Conduct Discharge that often follows).

Recipients of OTH discharges are barred from reenlisting into any component of the Armed Forces (including the reserves), and are normally barred from joining the Army and Air National Guard, except under rare circumstances which require exception-to-policy waivers. As of September 2006, all 50 states had policies barring the reenlistment of OTH discharge recipients.

In addition, the majority of veterans' benefits are not available to individuals who receive an under other than honorable conditions discharge, including the Montgomery GI Bill and (in most cases) VA healthcare benefits.

[edit] Bad Conduct (BCD)

Bad conduct discharges are given to service members after conviction via general or special court-martial in which a bad conduct discharge is part of the sentence. Bad conduct discharges are often preceded by a period of confinement in a military prison. The discharge itself is not executed until completion of both confinement and the appellate review process.

Virtually all veterans' benefits are forfeited by a bad conduct discharge.

[edit] Dishonorable

Dishonorable discharges are handed down for what the military considers the most dishonorable of conduct. This type of discharge may be rendered only by conviction at a general court-martial for offenses such as desertion, rape, or murder, calling for dishonorable discharge as part of the sentence.

With this characterization of service, all veterans' benefits are lost, regardless of past honorable service. This type of discharge carries a heavy stigma, usually making the obtainment of gainful post-service employment extremely difficult.

[edit] Entry level separation (ELS)

Entry level separations, or uncharacterized discharge, are given to individuals who separate prior to completing 180 days of military service, or when discharge action was initiated prior to 180 days of service. This type of discharge does not attempt to characterize service as good or bad; however, punitive and/or administrative discharges may be given to servicemembers within their first 180 days for serious misconduct.

[edit] Commissioned officers

Commissioned officers cannot be reduced in rank by a court-martial, nor can they be given a bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. If an officer is convicted by a General Court-Martial of an offense and qualifies for a punitive discharge, then the General Court-Martial can sentence the officer to a "dismissal." This is considered to be the same as a dishonorable discharge. The President of the United States can order that a commissioned officer be dismissed from the service, as all commissioned officers "serve at the pleasure of the President." However an officer who is dismissed by order of the President can demand a trial by court-martial to clear his or her name. If a court-martial is not convened, or if the officer is acquitted, then the Service Secretary of the branch that the officer is assigned to must then issue an administrative discharge in lieu of a dismissal.

[edit] Appeal procedures

After a discharge, the service member (or his next-of-kin, if deceased) can appeal the type of discharge that was given. Most of these requests are not approved [2], and then only if the service member can prove he or she was unfairly denied an honorable characterization.

Any punitive discharge that is adjudged by a Court-Martial is automatically reviewed by a military appellate court for each respective branch. These are the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals [3], and the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals. These courts are staffed by appellate military judges and function as an intermediate appellate court and have the power to review de novo both any questions of legal error and the factual basis of the conviction. If either the government or the accused is unsatisfied with the results of this appeal, the conviction or the sentence can be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. This court has the power of discretionary review, in that it can in some cases deny a petition to grant a review. This court however must hear any death penalty cases or cases certified by the Judge Advocate General of each respective service for appellate review. Litigants before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces can appeal to the United States Supreme Court. However, this right only applies to any case that the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has reviewed. Therefore, in most military justices cases, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is the court of last resort since a denial of a petition of review by that court will prevent any higher appeal.

Service members who are given a punitive discharge and have completed any adjudged confinement are normally placed on appellate leave pending final review of their case by the appellate courts. This includes members who plead guilty at their court-martial since all cases are automatically reviewed. The member is considered to be on active duty and is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice while on appellate leave. While the member is entitled to full health care benefits and other privileges of being on active duty, the member receives no pay or allowances and is not required to perform any military duties.

A service member who was adjudged a punitive discharge at a court martial and then dies before the appellate review process is complete is considered to have died on active duty under honorable conditions. Their next-of-kin is then entitled to any rights and benefits that any other service member's family would be entitled.

Once discharge is finalized, General, Entry-Level/Uncharacterized, and Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (UOTHC or OTH) discharges may be appealed for upgrade through the Discharge Review Board of the respective service, however, the appeal must be filed within 15 years of the date of separation, and it must be shown that the characterization of service was the result of an error or injustice. Bad Conduct Discharges handed down by a Special Court-Martial may be upgraded only as an act of clemency. Discharge Review Boards may also consider appeals for a change to the Narrative Reason for Discharge (contained in Block 28 of the DD 214). The DRB will not consider a request for the change of a Reenlistment Eligibility (RE) or Separation Designator (SPD) Code by itself, however, in the case that a discharge is upgraded, the RE and SPD codes are often changed to correspond with the new characterization of service and/or narrative reason for discharge.

If more than 15 years has passed since discharge, appeals must be directed to the Board For Correction of Military/Naval Records of the respective service. The BCM/NR hears a wide array of appeals and correction requests, and can be utilized by Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, retired and discharged veterans alike. Normally, an appeal must be filed within 3 years of the occurrance of an error or injustice, however, exceptions are often made.

[edit] Military Discharge Certificate

Every service member who is discharged, or released from active duty, is issued a DD 214, a military discharge certificate. A reservist who is called up to active duty is given a DD 214 when they are deactivated and returned to the reserves. Those who are discharged before completing 8 years of active duty or reserve duty in an active drilling status are transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) for the remainder of their military service obligation (MSO). The Individual Ready Reserve does not drill or receive pay, however, a member in IRR status can be recalled to active duty during time of war or national emergency until the 8 years have expired. Most members separating with an honorable discharge after completing a single term of service (typically 3-6 years) are transferred to the IRR for the remainder of the 8-year MSO.

The DD 214 is a complete documentation of military service. It contains everything from total time in service, dates of entry and discharge, dates of rank, documentation of foreign service, ribbons, medals and badges awarded, professional military education completed, characterization of service, and reason for discharge (among other things). When applying for many jobs, employers will often request a copy of the DD 214. There are two types of the DD 214, known as the edited and unedited (or "short" and "long") versions. The edited version will ommit certain information, including the characterization and reason for discharge, thus many employers will request the unedited version. A servicemember may request the edited, unedited or both versions upon separation.

The Freedom of Information Act has made (limited) records of military service available to the public, upon request. However, information protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 can be released only with the veteran's consent.

[edit] Re-enlistment Eligibility Code

Another important aspect is the RE (Re-enlistment Eligibility) Code. This specifies under what conditions the member can reenlist in the armed forces. The definition of each RE Code may vary from Service to Service, as currently it is the responsibility of each branch of the Armed Forces to establish reenlistment eligibility criteria, however as a general rule, a RE Code in the "1" series will allow for reenlistment into any component of the Armed Forces, and RE Code in the "3" series will usually allow the veteran to reenlist with a waiver. RE Codes in the "2" series often place restrictions on reenlistment; this is especially true in the Air Force, which has a policy permanently barring airmen separated from the Air Force with a RE Code 2 from reenlisting in the Air Force (though reenlistment into other components of the Armed Forces may be possible with a waiver.) A RE Code in the "4" series typically bars reenlistment into any component of the Armed Forces, regardless of which Service issued the code. A veteran issued a RE Code in the "4" series will usually require an Exception To Policy waiver to reenlist.

The Department of Veterans Affairs uses different criteria than the Departments of the Air Force, Army and Navy when establishing veteran status. VA benefits can sometimes be enjoyed if the discharge is deemed "Other Than Dishonorable". An example of this would be the VA's home loan program. [4]

[edit] Trivia

  • Walt Disney is sometimes said to have received a dishonorable discharge, which he proudly displayed above his desk, and as a result, the Walt Disney Company has a standing policy to not deny employment to anyone who has received a dishonorable discharge. While these stories are colorful, in fact, Disney never actually served in the military (although he did volunteer as an ambulance driver during World War I with the Red Cross). The discharge rumor is believed to have stemmed from an incident in which he was brought before a board of inquiry after leaving a disabled truck he was responsible for in order to search for food and water. The board found that Disney had taken appropriate steps to safeguard the vehicle, and therefore did not discipline him further.
  • Before recent changes, the maximum sentence at a Special Court Martial was known as six, six, and a kick. This referred to a term of confinement for six months, forfeiture of 2/3 pay per month for 6 months, and a bad conduct discharge. Recently the maximum sentence was changed to 1 year of confinement and forfeiture of 2/3 pay per month for 1 year. The term for the maximum sentence is now one, one, and done.
  • Discharges occurring at the end of a term of service are almost never referred to as "administrative separations." In normal military parlance, an "administrative separation" is when an individual is being involuntarily released from service, either for misconduct or medical disability.
  • British officers convicted at a Court-Martial can be dismissed. Especially serious offenders are dismissed in disgrace and are prohibited from ever serving Her Majesty in any capacity ever again. This includes service as a policeman, postman, attorney, or any other position either in the civil service or requiring an official appointment. In some cases, they may also be barred from going into medicine, teaching, nursing (especially in the case of sex offences) or working for certain contractors to the government.

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

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