I am a little surprised...

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

The dishonorable discharge part is due to the fact that if you were given a dishonorable discharge, they feel you were likely found guilty of a crime serious enough to be a felony. Maybe, maybe not.

The domestic abuse part is because they figure if you beat your spouse you'll eventually escalate to killing your spouse. Maybe, maybe not, but quite likely in many cases.

I find both to be somewhat reasonable, despite the fact that I fall under the classification of "gun nut" around here. Yeah, I suppose you can make the case that a misdemeanor is not a felony, and a dishonorable discharge could come as a penalty for a misdemeanor.

[Chairboy]

Someone who has received a dishonorable discharge cannot vote either, right?  My understanding is that it's roughly equivalent to having a felony conviction, and the offenses that bring it about are usually equivalent as well.

I also think most DDs involved jail time of over a year, nes pas?

[Sandman]

Gotta keep in mind... there's an honorable discharge, a dishonorable discharge, and then an other than honorable discharge.

Might even be some others...

[Leslie]

What the hell are we talking about here?  Who is getting a dishonorable discharge?  And from what?



Les

[Maverick]

Leslie,

Go back and read the first post of the thread. These were all general questions, nothing specific to an individual for a DC.

Sandy,

You're right that there are levels of discharge. A less than honorable one isn't as bad as a dishonorable but may prevent you from getting a Federal job and or security clearance if I recall correctly.

It's my understanding, and I could be wrong as it's been a while, that a dishonorable is the result of a Courts Marshal proceding and is part of the sentencing portion of the court. It's not an indication of what the crime was but a part of the sentence handed down.

[Sandman]

I think you're right. IIRC, the OTH (at least for the Navy) usually was the result of separation following NJP.