Section 8 (military)

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The term Section 8 refers to a discharge from the United States military for reason of being mentally unfit for service. This term was made popular by the television program M*A*S*H, in which a corporal in the US Army, Max Klinger, attempts for years to get a Section 8 discharge (usually by wearing women's clothing), in order to get out his tour of service of the Korean War.

In the 1950s, Section 8 discharges were commonly given to service members found guilty of "Sexual Perversion," especially for homosexuality — and it was classified as an undesirable discharge, depriving the soldier so discharged of veteran's benefits but not resulting in the loss of any citizenship rights, such as the right to vote.

Discharge under "Section 8" is no longer a military reality, as medical discharges for psychological/psychiatric reasons are now covered by a number of regulations. In the Army, such discharges are handled under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 635-200, Enlisted Administrative Separations. Chapter 5, paragraph 13 governs the separation of personnel medically diagnosed with a personality disorder.

The practice of discharging homosexual service members under Section 8 ceased after the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy went into effect during the Clinton Administration; those found to be homosexual are now issued honorable discharges in most circumstances, under Chapter 15 of the above referenced publication.

The Section 8 discharge sought after by Corporal Klinger in M*A*S*H differs from a real Section 8; Klinger is attracted to a Section 8 discharge because on the show, it is considered a medical discharge and not a dishonorable discharge. The Section 8 has also been referenced in the book A Separate Peace, the book (and later movie) Catch-22, in the movies Full Metal Jacket (due to the excessive masturbation habit of a Marine nicknamed "Handjob") and Jarhead, and in an episode of Family Guy, in which Stewie briefly parodies the Klinger character. There is also a group of investigators identified as "section 8" in the movie Basic.

In the Terminal Reality videogame RoadKill, the "Section 8s" are a homosexual gang that fanatically follows military protocol to the point that anyone who makes a noise when not ordered to is shot. The player (Mason Stone) is assigned missions from their leader - who seems to be very attracted to him, speaking in a gruff military voice laced with a lisp - to eliminate a rival gang in their area of the city.