Three Myths About Punitive Discharges In The Military

So you served in the military but your recruiter didn't adequately prepare you for the Military Justice System. Now here you are, a civilian of one, having accelerated yourself into an Other than Honorable (or worse) Discharge. As an Administrative Supervisor I was in charge of checking our recently "awarded" sailors out of the Navy. Along the way, I heard quite a few interesting claims which I would like to debunk.

Myth 1: After [x] Years, My Discharge Will Be Automatically Upgraded One Level

This seemed to be the war cry of those resigned to leaving the military with their less than Honorable Discharge. For those receiving a General Discharge under Honorable Conditions, this offered much hope that as time went on, they too could boast their full Honorable Discharge, just like those who hadn't gotten in trouble. For those with more severe punitive discharges, this took the sting out of the humiliation of an Article 15 Non-Judicial Punishment or Court-Martial. The sad part for all of those folks is that there is no truth in the automatic upgrade myth.

The Character of your discharge is permanent unless corrected by a Board of Corrections for your respective branch. In order to upgrade the character of a discharge, one must fill out a DD Form 293, Application for Review of Discharge or Dismissal from the United States Armed Services. This process is, by no means, automatic. The DD 293 is exactly what is says, a request to review a discharge. The Board of Corrections will review the service record and any supporting evidence or documents supplied by the service member. The discharge character will be upgraded if, and only if, it is determined to be in the best interest of justice to do so.

Myth 2: I am prior service and have a DD-214 (Certificate of Release from Active Duty) from my previous enlistment that is characterized as Honorable, I can just use that when I apply for jobs.

This is far less common than the former argument, but no more true. Essentially, the claim is that since you already possess a DD-214 that says "Honorable" this can be furnished when requested by employers or for purposes of obtaining Veteran's preference on Civil Service Examinations, rather than the latest discharge which is other than Honorable.

When Civil Service Commissions, Employers or any other agency requests a copy of the DD-214, they are requesting a copy of your last DD-214. By furnishing an earlier certificate in an attempt to hide your most recent misdeeds, you are lying to prospective employers and the Government. What's the big deal if it works? Simply put, if you get caught you can kiss the job goodbye. Dismissal from a government position for lying during the application process is also a surefire way to prevent yourself from obtaining government employment with another agency.

If your discharge was awarded courtesy of a Court-Martial, then there remains a great possibility that your conviction will pop up during a background check.

Myth 3: My Discharge was characterized as "General Under Honorable Conditions" this means I'm still eligible for Government Employment because it is considered an Honorable Discharge.

Let's slow it down there, turbo. First of all, I will explain how discharges are characterized very briefly. Essentially, an Honorable Discharge means that you have a clean record and your service cannot be characterized as anything other than Honorable. A General (Under Honorable Conditions) means that overall, your conduct was honorable, but there are a few blemishes on your service record. If you are being chaptered (Administratively Separated) for a disciplinary infraction, you can almost always count on at least a General Under Honorable Conditions. That being said, there are two blocks on the DD-214 you need to be aware of.

Narrative Reason for Separation This block on your DD-214 spells out the reason you are separating from active duty. It can say "Convenience of the Government: Medical Condition" or "Convenience of the Government: Psychological Disorder" or can plainly spell out reasons such as "Drug Abuse," or "Homosexual Conduct" or "Repeated Disciplinary Infractions." So if you were kicked out for drug abuse and think you are applying to the local Police Department, you better hope that they are very forgiving about sins of the past.

Reentry Code Different branches code reentry codes differently. When applying for Government employment (or even some civilian employment) there is one reentry code that is a deal breaker. RE-4 denotes that a person is ineligible for reentry into their branch, or any other branch of service. Involuntary separations such as Medical, Psychological or other "Convenience of the Government" discharges are categorized as "RE-3" which is (generally) eligible for reentry into the military.

While the character of your discharge may say "Honorable" or "General Under Honorable Conditions," an adverse reentry code can kill any hopes you have of government employment, while the narrative reason for separation will illustrate clearly to any employer the specific reason for your discharge.