What happens if you are honorably discharged

A general discharge under honorable conditions means that your service was satisfactory, but did not deserve the highest level of discharge for performance and conduct.

Many veterans with this type of discharge may have engaged in minor misconduct. If you were given an Other Than Honorable Discharge formerly known as an Undesirable Discharge , you will not likely be eligible for any benefits, but the VA will determine on a case-by-case basis whether circumstances are such that you should be entitled to a certain benefit or class of benefits.

When you apply for a benefit, such as disability compensation , the VA will give you a "character of service" review that will determine whether you are eligible. This is different from a discharge upgrade. Not all veterans with these types of discharge are eligible for a character of service determination CSD.

For instance, those convicted of a felony or spying for the enemy would not be offered a CSD. For more information, see Nolo's article on VA character of service determinations. If you received a Bad Conduct Discharge that was issued by a Special Court Martial, you may still qualify for certain benefits just as if you had an other than honorable discharge.

The VA will determine your eligibility through a character of service determination. Why are so few veterans aware that they have recourse? You may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email. See our Email Privacy Policy for details. Victims of MST have received Other than Honorable discharges Over a period of years, male and female victims of MST military sexual trauma have received Other than Honorable discharges or diagnoses of mental illness.

Posted in: General. Shad Meshad As a U. Name Please enter your name. There are two bodies that you can do this with depending on your case: the Discharge Review Board or the Board of Corrections of Military Records. Each has different jurisdictional limitations of what they can look at:.

The Discharge Review Board can look at discharge upgrade requests that were within 15 years of your discharge from service. However, it can only look at upgrades for general, OTH, and special court-martial discharges.

It cannot look at dishonorable or general court-martial discharges. The Board of Corrections of Military Records can look at discharge upgrade requests that fall beyond that year period.

It will look at the totality of circumstances, which is similar to what VA will look at i. Here, individuals will need to do some advocacy and explain why the discharge was wrong either factually or legally.

As with character of discharge determinations, discharge upgrade determinations are all appealable within the right timeframes. While discharge upgrades are not something that CCK typically handles, there is help available. Home Blog Military discharge status and what it means for your entitlement to VA benefits.

Veterans Law Military discharge status and what it means for your entitlement to VA benefits. April 24, Honorable Discharge An honorable discharge is by far the most common with over 85 percent of veterans receiving this type of discharge.

General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions General discharge means that you met the requirements of service, likely with some minor disciplinary actions, or failure to meet certain standards. Bad Conduct Discharge A bad conduct discharge is a punitive, or disciplinary, discharge that is imposed by a court-martial.

If you receive a bad conduct discharge by a special court-martial reserved for more serious charges , rather than a general court-martial reserved for crimes that would be felonies if committed by civilians , Dishonorable Discharge The worst discharge you can receive is a dishonorable discharge.

Other Than Dishonorable Conditions: VA Determinations of Eligibility Many veterans assume that when they get a less-than-honorable discharge, they are ineligible for benefits.

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