Author Topic: Dishonorable Discharge (Read 3117 times)

eskimo2 · « **on:** March 25, 2007, 09:58:44 AM »

My wife and I watched the end of “A Few Good Men” last night. Spoiler for an old movie: The two Marines get Dishonorable Discharges. We talked about what the exact consequences are of a Dishonorable Discharge. I think that when a soldier is Dishonorably Discharged he/she loses benefits and has a hard time getting any kind of government job. I Googled the term and found a bunch of dictionary definitions and political rants about how certain politicians should receive a Dishonorable Discharge, but couldn’t find an in depth explanation of the consequences of a Dishonorable Discharge. (Actually I was eventually distracted and drawn off task by a sight of sexual slang terms that included the term “Dishonorable Discharge”.)

So, what are the consequences of a Dishonorable Discharge?

Mini D · « **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2007, 10:36:27 AM »

I believe the biggest consequence is that you cannot get a federal license for anything. No pilots license, no FFL license or anything like that. In some states, it might limit your right to buy firearms, but I'm not sure on that.

The dishonorable can be changed to honorable after a certain amount of time through petition, but I don't know what effect that has.

I do believe Walt Disney had a Dishonorable Discharge form on a plaque on his wall.

Mini D · « **Reply #2 on:** March 25, 2007, 10:42:38 AM »

Well... a quick stop by the incredibly inaccurate wikipedia didn't really mention much about what was limited, but pretty muched poopood on the rest of what I said.

Walt Disney didn't receive a dishonorable discharge. In addition, getting your discharge upgraded isn't as easy as we heard in the military. this website has a pretty good summary on that side of things.

Xargos · « **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2007, 10:50:07 AM »

You can't buy firearms in S.C. with a dishonorable discharge.

Suave · « **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2007, 10:52:54 AM »

I think a lot of civilians don't realize how serious a punishment that a dishonorable discharge is, they think it means you just get kicked out.

You can be court marshalled and do years in a military prison and still not get a dishonorable discharge.

And I could be wrong, but isn't lying about a dishonorable discharge also a crime? Well obviously when buying a firearm it is.

Mini D · « **Reply #5 on:** March 25, 2007, 11:07:07 AM »

Looking through things a bit... I don't think they define what you can/can't do with a dishonorable discharge. It is the military equivilent to a 1st degree felony and seems to be treated as such by employers.

What you can and can't do is decided by those issuing the licenses and laws. It's not outlined by the military itself.

DREDIOCK · « **Reply #6 on:** March 25, 2007, 11:27:07 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Xargos
You can't buy firearms in S.C. with a dishonorable discharge.

Is that even constitutional?

While I am in no way condoning anyone who has received a dishonorable discharge. I do not see how it is constitutional to strip you of one of your rights once you are no longer a member of the military

Maverick · « **Reply #7 on:** March 25, 2007, 11:34:43 AM »

A dishonorable discharge carries a lifelong problem for the owner of it. The military has 3 discharges: Honorable, General and dishonorable.

The dishonorable is the result of a conviction from a court marshal. I'ts a defrinite felony level offense under the UCMJ.

It carries a loss of any chance of getting a Federal job and in some cases State jobs depending on the laws and kind of state job. I'm not sure about loss of firearms rights. You also have no chance of a security clearance.

VOR · « **Reply #8 on:** March 25, 2007, 11:34:57 AM »

Dred, it is constitutional in that a servicemember dishonorably discharged will have been convicted of a felony crime (probably murder) in a military court. One of the questions on the "yellow form" when buying a firearm specifically asks if you have been dishonorably discharged.

Airscrew · « **Reply #9 on:** March 25, 2007, 12:07:15 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Maverick
A dishonorable discharge carries a lifelong problem for the owner of it. The military has 3 discharges: Honorable, General and dishonorable.

actually its a bit deeper than just 3.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/l/aadischarge1.htm

Punitive Discharges. Punitive discharges are authorized punishments of courts-martial and can only be awarded as an approved court-martial sentence pursuant to a conviction for a violation of the UCMJ. There are two types of punitive discharges: Dishonorable Discharge (DD) -- which can only be adjudged by a general court-martial and is a separation under dishonorable conditions; and Bad-Conduct Discharge (BCD) -- which can be adjudged by either a general court-martial or a special court-martial and is a separation under conditions other than honorable.

Administrative Separations. Administrative separations cannot be awarded by a court-martial and are not punitive in nature. Enlisted personnel may be administratively separated with a characterization of service (characterized separation) or description of separation (uncharacterized separation) as warranted by the facts of the particular case.

Honorable. The Honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for military personnel, or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate.

General (Under Honorable Conditions). If a member's service has been honest and faithful, it is appropriate to characterize that service under honorable conditions. Characterization of service as General (under honorable conditions) is warranted when significant negative aspects of the member's conduct or performance of duty outweigh positive aspects of the member's military conduct or performance of duty outweigh positive aspects of the record. A General (under honorable conditions) characterization of discharge may jeopardize a member's ability to benefit from the Montgomery G.I. Bill if they, in fact, had contributed. Moreover, the member will not normally be allowed to reenlist or enter a different military service.

Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. OTH Discharges are warranted when the reason for separation is based upon a pattern of behavior that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of members of the Military Services, or when the reason for separation is based upon one or more acts or omissions that constitute a significant departure from the conduct expected of members of the Military Services.

FastFwd · « **Reply #10 on:** March 25, 2007, 01:07:47 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Mini D
I believe the biggest consequence is that you cannot get a federal license for anything. No pilots license

There are ways around that. You could obtain a pilot's license in another country, which would be valid in the US. That's exactly what Bob Hoover did when the FAA agents decided his time was up.

Maverick · « **Reply #11 on:** March 25, 2007, 04:04:32 PM »

Airscrew,

I never thought about the seperations as they aren't essentially a discharge per se. I was thinking about the more serious and or formal ones.

I totally spaced the less than honorable one though. doh!

Another example of CRS.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #12 on:** March 26, 2007, 09:43:01 AM »

Whats the diff between an honorable discharge and a general discharge? (Regaridng military, not bodily fluids!)

Mini D · « **Reply #13 on:** March 26, 2007, 10:21:57 AM »

OTH means they are getting kicked out for something not serious enough to merrit a Dishonorable Discharge. Usually this is for things like drug use, repeat DUIs and such.

rpm · « **Reply #14 on:** March 26, 2007, 12:15:20 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Whats the diff between an honorable discharge and a general discharge?

Being a good soldier and being a ****head.