Other Discharges

Pregnancy and Childbirth

A woman may request separation because of pregnancy or childbirth. To do so, write your commanding officer a letter requesting an honorable discharge and describing how your pregnancy or childbirth makes it important that you be discharged. You may also need a military physician's certification of your pregnancy.

If your request is approved you will either be discharged or separated from active duty and transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve.

Parenthood

If you are a single parent, you might have trouble performing your duties effectively, be absent frequently, or be unavailable for worldwide assignment. This might hurt military "readiness," and you can be separated if parenthood interferes with your work and availability. If this is true for you, discuss the problem with your commanding officer. Don't make a case for how your parenthood has already kept you from doing your duties, because that may lead to a less than honorable discharge. But discuss how much of a problem your parenthood may be in the future and how separation would be in the interest of the military as well as yourself.

Surviving Son or Daughter

Many people think that they could be eligible for discharge because they are the only son or daughter in their family. There is no such provision for discharge.

There is a discharge for a member of the military whose father, mother, sister, or brother was a member of the US military and, after the member enlisted, was either:

killed in action;
died in the line of duty as a result of wounds, accidents, or disease;
was captured or determined to be missing in action; or
is permanently 100% disabled.

Even for the very few people who qualify, discharge is unlikely unless you act quickly after the death, capture, etc. of your family member. If you think you qualify, call the GI Rights Hotline to be sure.

Surviving Son or Daughter Regulations

DoD Directive 1315.15, Special Separation Policies for Survivorship [September 26, 1988]
AR 635-200, §5-4., Personnel Separations; Enlisted Personnel [November 1, 2000]
MILPERSMAN (NAVPERS 15560 C) §3620240., Naval Military Personnel Manual [Through Change 31, December 18, 2000]
MARCORSEPMAN (MCO P1900.16 E) §6410., Marine Corps Separation and Retirement Manual [August 18, 1995]
AFI 36-3208 §3.12., Administrative Separation of Airmen [October 14, 1994]

Erroneous and Defective Enlistment

Recruiters are often so eager to fill their quotas that they will enlist people who are not actually eligible for enlistment. You may be entitled to a discharged for "erroneous enlistment" if you can show that you were not fully qualified for enlistment, that you yourself did not lie in order to enlist, and that you are still unqualified. You must show that your enlistment would never have occurred if the facts had been known or if recruiting personnel had followed regulations. Some examples of this are: you did not meet the medical standards; your test scores were not high enough but the recruiters changed them to get you in; or you were sworn in by a noncommissioned officer rather than a commissioned officer.

There is another discharge for "defective enlistment agreements." Suppose you enlisted only because your recruiter promised you a specific kind of training or job assignment--but the military could not or would not give you what the recruiter promised. If you enlisted as a result of such a "material misinterpretation" by a recruiter, you may request a discharge; but you must do so within 30 days after you have discovered the defect.

Compile as much evidence as you can: a copy of your enlistment document (especially useful if the recruiter's promise appears on the document); notarized statements from family or friends who were "witnesses" at your enlistment or can testify that you would never have enlisted if it were not for the recruiter's promise; medical records to confirm a medical condition; school records to help contradict strangely high military test scores; and a statement from recruits, friends, or counselors who have had similar problems with your recruiter.

But be sure that the erroneous or defective enlistment did not occur because you knowingly concealed or gave false information. If so, you run the risk of being charged with "fraudulent enlistment" and getting a bad discharge or other punishment.

Gather all of your evidence and submit it to your commanding officer with a letter requesting an honorable discharge for erroneous or defective enlistment. Unfortunately, such discharges are difficult to obtain due to strict time limitations for claims and the fact that qualifications for enlistment and recruiting promises can be "waived" rather than resulting in discharge. If you believe you have a strong case, but the command is uncooperative, get help from your Congress member.

Helping Out Regulations Guide: Erroneous, Defective and Under-age Regulations

Under-age

It is illegal to enlist if you are under age 17. But if the recruiter took you anyway, simply provide proof of your age, and your enlistment should be automatically voided. Proof of age can include a birth certificate, a certified copy of your earliest school records, or a notarized statement from the doctor or midwife who assisted your birth.

To enlist people between ages 17 and 18, a recruiter must get written consent from your parents or legal guardian. If you are still 17 and you want a discharge, your parent(s) or legal guardian must request your discharge within 90 days of your enlistment. They should state that they never gave their written consent. If more than 90 days have passed since your enlistment, you may still be able to get a discharge if you can show that you protested your enlistment early on, but were told by military superiors that a discharge would be impossible; that your parents did not know you enlisted; or, that your parents did not know an early discharge was possible for you.

Helping Out Regulations Guide: Erroneous, Defective and Under-age Regulations

Unsatisfactory Performance

You may be talented and intelligent, but just not cut out for military life. Is it unlikely that you'll make it through any further training? Have you no potential for military advancement or leadership? Do your evaluations show that you can't keep up to the "standards" of your military job? Are you financially "irresponsible"? Unsanitary? If you answer "yes" to any of these, you may qualify for separation. But by bringing your unsatisfactory performance to your commander's attention, you risk a discharge for misconduct, which may be less than honorable and can result in a loss of veterans benefits. However, if you make it clear that your attitude and performance are not intentional or your fault, you might be able to get an Honorable discharge. If you are in entry level status, you will receive an Entry Level Performance and Conduct discharge.

Your military service record may provide much of the documentation you need for this separation, especially if it contains low evaluations, poor aptitude and test scores, and records of counseling or unsuccessful attempts at rehabilitation. Help your case along by getting an examination with civilian or military psychiatrists who can report on your problems with work and life in the military. Give your command any such reports, and ask sympathetic clergy members, medical officers, or other professionals to submit letters explaining how a discharge would be best for both you and the military. Once your command has all of this material, request a meeting to discuss it. If your commander refuses to deal with it, consider going to the next level of command or getting help from your Congress member.

Helping Out Regulations Guide: Unsatisfactory Performance Regulations

Misconduct

A misconduct discharge can result from a pattern of minor disciplinary infractions, a serious military offense, or a conviction by civilian authorities. Common misconduct offenses include drug use and unauthorized absence. If you're thinking of trying to get out for misconduct, you're taking a big risk. Most offenses resulting in a misconduct discharge are also punishable by court-martial, and you could wind up in prison with a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge.

If your command wants to give you a misconduct discharge, the commander must first try to "rehabilitate" you--give you another chance. If the command still decides, against your will, that you should be discharged, you can challenge it. You have the right to a lawyer and to an Administrative Board hearing where you can explain your behavior or defend yourself against unfair accusations. The hearing officers and NCOs will decide if you should be discharged, and what character of discharge (Honorable, General, or OTH) to recommend. Misconduct discharges are usually Under Other Than Honorable conditions.

Helping Out Regulations Guide: Misconduct Regulations

Discharge In Lieu of Court-Martial ("For the Good of the Service")

If you have been charged with an offense for which you could be given a court-martial (like AWOL or UA), you may request an administrative discharge instead of ("in lieu") of court-martial. This discharge will most likely be Other Than Honorable, which means you will probably lose your veterans benefits and may have problems getting a civilian job. But these, or worse situations, could also result from a court-martial. Although you will get a military lawyer, try to talk with a civilian attorney and find out how good your chances are at winning the court-martial.

A request for "separation in lieu of court-martial" does not always result in discharge, and you may have to admit your guilt when you make the request. If your request is turned down, your command could possibly use that admission of guilt against you, so it's risky. But so are the ordeals of court-martial, possible imprisonment, and a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge.

Helping Out Regulations Guide: Discharge in Lieu Regulations