Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
as my username states. I received a bad conduct discharge from the army in 2008.
I have held very great jobs since my release from confinement. I have worked loss prevention. I have conducted the supervision of state defendants court ordered to be on electronic ankle monitoring.
I now attend a "sub class" of law enforcement. Details i will not disclose here. So don't ask
my charges were:
Larceny of government property
sale of .....
Attempt to sale of .....
I received with a plea agreement held under a general court martial:
12 months confinement
reduction of rank to e-1
forfeiture of all pay and allowances
bad conduct discharge
!!!!now!!! Since my release. I have fought for my gi bill and after 12 denial letters from the va. I was approved to receive 100% full gi bill benefits.
Note: That the requirement for gi bill benefits is to have 90 days of honorable active duty service. Since i received a good conduct medal which is 3 years of honorable service. And that i re-enlisted at my 2 year mark. I was approved. They tried to shoot me down. But when i hinted that i will file a lawsuit for breach of contract. The jumped at approving the gi bill.
Now i'm just beginning my fight with the va to have my medical benefits. My battle will be the same since their requirements are basically the same thing. I do for now have the va's five year medical benifits for combat veterans. But i was shot while in the army and need additional surgery's to repair the damage.
For all of you out there that think all because you have a discharge that isn't an honorable. Look at your records. Look at your records. Look at your records.
Scan over your original military contract. In it you will find the exact requirements that you and the va agreed on at the time. It doesn't matter what their requirements are right now. They muuuuust uphold the contract you held when you enlisted. If you re-enlisted then you are golden. If you have any good conduct medals, then you are golden. If you deployed to combat, then you should have five year "combat veteran preference"
i am in the beginning of have my discharge upgraded.
I contacted the batf "atf" yesterday. And ran my entire case by their agent. He and i quote his words not mine. "well, since you were tried under the ucmj and not a state or federal court. Then your charges were not against the united states but the military." "the term in the gun control act of 1968 that talks about were you charged of under indictment of a crime punishable by more than one year actually only applies to violent crimes and crimes against a person." "since your charges were only theft related. It was against property and not against a person." "so from the atf regulations point of view, your fine to have a weapon." "just to play it safe, go grab a records check from the state troopers and if it says your good then your good." "i've been in the atf for 18 years and have ran thousands of background checks and never not even once had a military record show up." "even when we request for a suspects military records, it takes tons of letters, memorandums, and takes weeks or months to get a copy."
these are the words of a near retirement atf agent.
So again, when you get out. Do not hang your head low and think all is lost. For those dishonorably discharged. I'm sorry but the bs you'll find on google will tell you that your sol. Not true.
You can also have some but not all benefits. You will never get medical but try for the gi bill.
I'm also looking into having my "civil rights" restored. Also called "restoration of rights". City and state convicted felons apply to their individual state. I'm unsure about military convictions tho. But basically when you restore your civil rights. You are regaining you 1-right to vote and 2-right to bear arms.
If anyone else has any advise they could share with me it would be outstanding. If you need assistance with anything i have achieved just ask.
a badconductdischarge i got i need your help i got a bad conduct discharge to and got cconfinement to 7 months reduce e-1 i served 3 years the renlisted and on my about after 1 years later i got in trouble for writeing bad checks i went to iraq and got service medals. After that i work for kbr with the miltary for another 2 years in iraq want to try to ged t my discharge upgraged and use my gi bi and va can u help me i relly want to too too you can we exchange numbers
I was in army for 4 years i got a bad conduct discharge and i went to prison for 7 months people told me it would hard to get job about after 8 months of getting out of prison i work for kbr a military contractor over seas making 7000 a month background was never a issue it will be only a promblem if you need a security clearance
I am currently in the USAR and I cannot deal with it anymore or really my life for that matter. I have no job, I am a student only because of the Pell Grant and I have to borrow/ sell or whatever to get to class. I cannot take the BS and mind games my unit puts me through month after month. They will not pay me and for someone already in the extreme poverty bracket, it just means I have to prioritze going to drill and somehow getting a haircut..et cetera or getting to class. I have not gone in several months and I have the feeling some kind of discharge is coming soon. After five years in the USAR and getting screwed the whole way through, I accept they will discharge me, but what kind will I get? Even right now, my record still entirely clean (No negative discharge on my record) I am unable to find employment and I have basically given up after two years of filing applications with every minimum wage job in the area. I wonder if what I feel is the loss of my mind.
Last edited by Roman Legion; 03-04-2013 at 07:35 PM..
I just wanted to say thank you for this post. It helped me realize I'm not alone, and that I'm still young and have my whole life ahead of me. Congratulations on all your success, and I wish you the best. Thanks for staying strong and giving me hope.
I know people make mistakes when they are young but is it really that hard to get an honorable discharge? The people I've known who got dishonorably discharged while I was in the army all did something that I feel is indicative of deeper character flaws -- dealing drugs, getting drunk and destroying vehicles, stealing from the PX, going AWOL right before deployment. I'm glad you guys are able to get your lives back on track and you certainly deserve the chance to do so but please don't make it seem like the military was out to get you and that you deserve as much credit as those who served honorably.
The characterization of your service doesn't matter nearly as much as what you choose to do after the service. I am VERY familiar with this process. After 3 years on active duty, I received a BCD for failing to follow a lawful order. After I got out, I went to (and graduated) college. I worked hard, and funded my education with academic grants and student loans. I worked as a firefighter for 5 years. I have also worked for other employers, and have had a career in construction. I made it to the final phase of selection for DEA special agent, and only missed that opportunity because the government cut funding for new agents (and deleted classes) for 2.5 years. When hiring resumed, I was the one that turned them down because of life and situation changes. Currently, I am finishing my last semester of law school.
The point is: Don't let yourself be defined by your failures or mistakes. Never give up! The characterization of your service really only matters for VA benefits, and of course yourself. Other people will give you the opportunities and respect that you show them that you deserve. Work hard, maintain your integrity, and keep you chin up, and you will be alright!!
I have a really hard time believing you made DEA special agent with that kind of discharge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adhom
I know people make mistakes when they are young but is it really that hard to get an honorable discharge? The people I've known who got dishonorably discharged while I was in the army all did something that I feel is indicative of deeper character flaws -- dealing drugs, getting drunk and destroying vehicles, stealing from the PX, going AWOL right before deployment. I'm glad you guys are able to get your lives back on track and you certainly deserve the chance to do so but please don't make it seem like the military was out to get you and that you deserve as much credit as those who served honorably.
No it's not hard at all. It's usually the dirtbags that are trouble makers.
I know people make mistakes when they are young but is it really that hard to get an honorable discharge? The people I've known who got dishonorably discharged while I was in the army all did something that I feel is indicative of deeper character flaws -- dealing drugs, getting drunk and destroying vehicles, stealing from the PX, going AWOL right before deployment. I'm glad you guys are able to get your lives back on track and you certainly deserve the chance to do so but please don't make it seem like the military was out to get you and that you deserve as much credit as those who served honorably.
Depends. Everyone who is separated in boot camp and sometimes in technical training (within first 180 days) is given an uncharacterized discharge. It is not considered honorable. I've seen people get this for innocent reasons such as they had a medical condition they didn't know about or they got injured during training. This discharge might cause problems with employers who require an honorable discharge only, which is unfortunate if they didn't do anything wrong.
Once you get out of training, an honorable discharge is pretty much guaranteed unless you committ misconduct. If you fail PT or have a medical problem or something that isn't really your fault after that 180 day window, it will result in honorable discharge. General, Other than Honorable, Bad Conduct and Dishonorable discharges represent varying degrees of misconduct.
Since I left the military I haven't had any troubles whatsoever. As others mentioned here, unless you end up something Dishonorable, it shouldn't affect you at all. It seems more like a tactic used to try to scare people more than anything else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adhom
I know people make mistakes when they are young but is it really that hard to get an honorable discharge? The people I've known who got dishonorably discharged while I was in the army all did something that I feel is indicative of deeper character flaws -- dealing drugs, getting drunk and destroying vehicles, stealing from the PX, going AWOL right before deployment. I'm glad you guys are able to get your lives back on track and you certainly deserve the chance to do so but please don't make it seem like the military was out to get you and that you deserve as much credit as those who served honorably.
Except sometimes the military is out to get you. I won't go through everything but I will say that I was not paid at all for over a year. Going through the Chain of Command did literally nothing and the issue wasn't resolved for many years, just shy under a decade (going as far as State Representatives and even now I still don't have all the money I am owed 10+ years later). So what is one to do when 1: You're not being paid. 2: Your Chain of Command does nothing. 3: You have bills to pay and if you don't pay them then you're going to get strikes against you, which will lead to dismissal from the military anyway. Not to mention the bankruptcy, repossession, etc. that would follow. 4: There is no way for you to resolve it for yourself.
As said, I worked for free for a long time in a hazardous region in the world. My time in the military was impeccable without a single infraction. So, since you say no one should feel that they deserve any credit... How long would you work for free? How long could you work for free? Would you be willing to be thrown out and ruin your financial future at the same time because you can't pay your bills?
Sometimes the military breaks the contract and acts dishonorably and there is nothing the soldier can do about it.
As previously stated by several other people on here it will not matter as much as people may say. As I have found with an OTH discharge not many people ask about your discharge unless they need to such as a job requiring a clearance of any kind. Government jobs because they look at you previous government employment being the military. Many people out there like to put people down but don't realize that just because you have received this discharge means your worthless and will never obtain a decent job. I personally make over $50,000 dollars a year working at a canning company. A lot of hours and not the most prestigious job but I am accepted for college and am going back to school. It is all what you want to make of it. I screwed up and admit to my mistake but I wont let it define the rest of my life. Good luck and I hope everything works out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can get job
