Anyone here ex-military with a less than honourable discharge? (employee, employer, jobs)

[stillhonorable]

I received a dishonorable discharge almost 20 years ago. It has never impacted my ability to work, or be self-employed. I've never let it. I knew from the moment I was discharged that I wouldn't let this characterize or stop me. For me, the military describing me (or my discharge) as dishonorable doesn't make me a dishonorable person. For me, it is nothing more than a piece of paper from the past. Even before my act and subsequent discharge, the superiors in the military treated me with disdain so when I made a mistake, they did their best to throw the book at me. Good thing I caught it.

I know that not everyone will agree and some employers will definitely take a different stance, but given the demonstrated behavior of the US military and gov't towards their own soldiers, civilians - men, women and children in foreign territories, their characterization of anything holds no weight in my book. I did one dishonorable thing a long time ago and I'm over it. Forgive yourself, move on and you'll find that others will too.

[navy112]

Soon I'm facing being discharged from the navy for a second violation of article 92 failure to obey a lawful order the first time was underage drinking and the second time was smoking a cigarette while in a restricted status it seems ridiculous to be getting discharged for a drink and a smoke but I'm worried I will be facing an oth and it may hinder my goals of going to college and getting a half decent job to sustain myself while I try to make it through engineering school any insight?

[Jacsride]

I have a BCD myself and it hasn't affected any of my job opportunities in my life, I spent over 3.5 yrs in service was busted on a drug test for pot, then I assaulted 2 officers and 3 NCO's 1 of the officers was a colonel full bird and none of the charges transferred into the civilian courts and if they would they would be at worst considered a misdemeanor.I had full medical until I went on full disability due to being ran over by a pickup truck. there has been quite a number of people in this world that thrive after a BCD, Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead. There is life after the military and it's there for the taking just remember that you are better than a BCD. As the Dali Lama was quoted "When you learn to let things truly go, only then do you have nothing holding you back".

Originally Posted by badconductdischarge

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.

[ItsRick24]

I was medically discharged from the Military - it may not be honorable but it certainly ain't dishonorable. After I got out, I just found a doctor, received ongoing treatments, and got better. Never affected my civilian careers one iota.

[Suburban_Guy]

I was in the military a long time ago (over 20 years ago). I had an honorable discharge, but was never asked earlier in my career about my military discharges (when I still put my military service on my resume).

Nowadays I don't even put my military service on resume since it's so long ago and has no relevance to my career track. It also dates me.

No one would care.

Perhaps for some jobs such as government it might make some difference if they search back far enough.

[Queenbiotch1966]

I have a question. If a person goes to boot camp, does one class completion, but cannot run the 2 miles in the alotted time and gets discharged, does that mean he is still eligible for VA benefits?

[LakeLifePA]

Originally Posted by Queenbiotch1966

I have a question. If a person goes to boot camp, does one class completion, but cannot run the 2 miles in the alotted time and gets discharged, does that mean he is still eligible for VA benefits?

You will not be eligible for VA benefits after that short period of time. Most benefits such as a VA Loan or GI Bill require 2 or 3 years of service depending on your original enlistment commitment.

[newtoks]

Originally Posted by BlackZappa301

If so what kind of career have you made for yourself after the military?

A lot depends on the type of career you want. You may as well forget about anything in government, security, law enforcement or jobs that require certain types of licenses for which that type of discharge makes you ineligible. Most private employers are going to treat it like a criminal conviction, so you may be able to get a job or not based on their policy. Keep in mind that a lot of business owners served in the military or are of a more patriotic nature and they will want nothing to do with you.

I see it like having a felony conviction, it is going to limit your career choices for the rest of your life and you will need to find the few employers that are willing to give you a second chance or open your own business.

[Combat Engineer]

I received a bad BCD back in 2007. I Tried to bring a war trophy home from Iraq. Served 30 days in the brig. The good thing was that this was on my second enlistment. I went on to get my electrical engineering degree. Graduated in 2012(via GI bill). Found an internship then a job after that. I list my military on my resume but I have never had an employer inquire about my discharge. But at this point in my career it's really a non factor. I'm makeing dang near 6 figures and I could not be any happier. Do not let your discharge dictate on what you want to do with your future. Keep your head up. You will be ok.

[Suburban_Guy]

Since I was in the military quite a while ago, I don't even list it on my resume. My military experience has had no relevance to my career track anyhow.

I don't think the military service even shows up on the background checks, so if I had a less than honorable discharge, or a bad one (dishonorable), I doubt it would even make any difference.

But if I were applying for a government job, I'd definitely list the military service since it could count for retirement purposes. In those cases, yes, I'm sure a bad discharge might make a difference regardless of how long ago it was (not sure if they even ask what kind of discharge on such applications).