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Regulations Guide
This information is excerpted from Helping Out: A Guide to Military Discharges and GI Rights, published by the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO).
Discharge Regulations by Chapter
- A listing of regulations cited in Helping Out, by chapter.
Discharge Regulations by Service
- A listing of regulations cited in Helping Out, by Service
Official Military Regulations Sites
An increasing number of military regulations are available in Adobe Acrobat's PDF format. The files can be read with Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free from www.adobe.com.
Every procedure in the military is directed by a regulation. The Department of Defense (DoD) issues "Directives" and "Instructions" that establish general policies for all of the Services: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. (The Marine Corps, which we refer to as a Service, is actually a part of the Navy. The Coast Guard, while only a part of the DoD during times of war, also follows DoD policy regarding discharges.)
The Services implement DoD policies with their own, often differing, regulations based on their own unique traditions and policies. The Army issues "Regulations," the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard issue "Instructions," and the Marine Corps issues "Orders." The result is literally thousands of regulations.
The sheer number of military regulations is overwhelming, not just for civilian outsiders but often to commanders as well. It is not unusual for the practices at a unit to contradict regulatory policy. In such cases, citing regulatory policy to a client's commander can result in a unit following proper procedures when processing a client.
More commonly, military regulations are so ambiguous, or allow for such broad command discretion, that they do not provide concrete policy guidance. However, even in such situations knowledge of military regulations can add greatly to a counselor's credibility with a commander. Arguments based on regulations, even when the regulations are vague, will carry more weight.
Whenever possible, read or review the Service regulation which covers a case. It is also helpful to encourage clients to read these regulations; it will make it easier for clients to work on their own case and sometimes place them in the happy position of knowing more about particular policies than the command.