All branches of the military consider you to have a strong case for a discharge upgrade if you can show your discharge was connected to any of these categories: -Mental health conditions, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -Sexual assault or harassment during military service (at VA, we refer to this as military sexual trauma or MST)
In order to begin the process of a Discharge Upgrade, an applicant will first want to determine where they need to apply for their upgrade. This will depend on your branch of service, your date of discharge, and the type of changes you want made to your military record. Restore your rights and benefits.
Our expert military discharge attorneys are prepared to give you the strongest case possible to the Discharge Review Board and to help give you back your civil liberties and veteran benefits.
In general, you have 15 years from your date of discharge to apply. Discharge review boards are NOT automatic, you must apply to have your case heard. There is leniency if the time limit has passed for you.
A discharge upgrade changes the “character of service” shown on your DD-214 discharge certificate. Today, most certificates show the “character of service” as either Honorable, General (Under Honorable Conditions), Other Than Honorable, Bad Conduct or Dishonorable.
It is very difficult to get a discharge upgrade, so you should submit comprehensive evidence and/or find an attorney to help you submit a complete package. Make sure to request and submit your military records and positive post-service history.
It often takes a month and a half to two months to find out the board's decision. If you get the upgrade, you'll get a new discharge certificate, DD-214, and a copy of the board's decision. If you don't get the upgrade, you'll get the board's letter explaining their decision.
The DRBThe DRB has the power to upgrade military discharges that were not the result of a General Court-Martial. The board may also change the Narrative Reason For Discharge except to or from discharges with “disability” listed as the narrative reason.
An outreach effort launched by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2021 looks to let veterans with other than honorable discharges know they may still be eligible to receive VA benefits and health care. They can also request an upgrade to their discharge status through the Department of Defense (DoD).
In general, there are five different types of discharges from the Army: Honorable; General, Under Honorable Conditions; Under Other than Honorable Conditions; Bad Conduct; and Dishonorable.
8 surprising medical conditions that could bar you from serviceFood Allergies. If you have a history of food allergies, you might be disqualified from joining the military. ... Celiac Disease. ... Contact dermatitis. ... Asthma. ... Braces or dental ailments. ... Motion sickness. ... Acne. ... Too tall.
If a veteran received any discharge other than Dishonorable, the VA can make a determination that the service is honorable for VA purposes, and could rescind that.
Veterans with OTH discharges may be eligible for certain health care benefits without being required to enroll in VA health care, such as: Treatment for sexual assault or harassment experienced while in the military. Mental and behavioral health care. Counseling services at a VA Vet Center.
This tool can be found on Vets.gov at: https://www.vets.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions. The link is also available on Military OneSource (http://www.militaryonesource.mil/) and each of the review board's websites (listed below).
Because the military regards drug use as behavior for which the individual is culpable, it generally processes these cases for a discharge on the grounds of misconduct. This involuntary discharge will normally be characterized as Under Other Than Honorable Conditions.
Checking Discharge Status You can request your records online, by mail or via fax: Online: Veterans and the next-of-kin to veterans who are deceased can request service records online at eVetRecs.archives.gov.
The U.S. Military discharges service members when they decide to release them from their obligation to serve. Usually enlisting in the U.S. armed f...
Honorable discharge Other than honorable discharge General discharge under honorable conditions Bad conduct discharge Medical separation Entry-leve...
Honorable discharge is the best type of discharge a service man or woman can receive. This is given to those who performed their duties well. Those...
An Other Than Honorable discharge is the most severe type of administrative discharge. It does not require a court martial.It is usually given for:...
This type of discharge indicates that service was satisfactory. However, it did not deserve the highest level of discharge due to performance and c...
A Court martial issues Bad Conduct Discharges Prison time is possible depending on the severity of the bad conduct. This is not an administrative d...
A medical separation is issued when a service member has a medical condition. This can include a mental health condition. A qualifying medical cond...
This is not characterized as a “good” or “bad” discharge. It’s simply for people who entered the service and left before completing 180 days.
Dishonorable Discharges are like Bad Conduct Discharges. However, they are punitive rather than administrative.In order to get this type of dischar...
This is a general, catch-all type of voluntary separation or discharge. The military uses this when it wants a service member to leave but doesn’t...
Military discharge upgrade lawyer Brett O’Brien, Esq., knows that, unless upgraded, less-than-honorable discharges can negatively impact veterans for the rest of their careers and make them ineligible for future benefits. If your military discharge was less than optimal or has affected your ability to obtain a job or benefits, discharge upgrade lawyer Brett O’Brien can help.
The discharge upgrade process is not quick. In fact, most discharge cases take between several months to 24 months to complete. Unfortunately, even if you hire a discharge upgrade lawyer, your case will still take this long to process. This is because all boards currently have significant backlogs.
In considering whether to grant you an upgrade, the DRB can consider the circumstances surrounding your discharge, your service record in its entirety, whether the discharge was fair and proper, as well as your life outside of the military.
When requesting an upgrade, the burden is on the discharged veteran to prove that an upgrade is warranted . To get your discharge upgraded or your character of service changed, you will need to demonstrate that your discharge was either “improper” or “inequitable.” An improper discharge means that the discharge was based on factually incorrect information or was inconsistent with the law. An inequitable discharge means that the discharge was unfair or was inconsistent with the traditions and policies of the service. An example of a discharge that qualifies for an upgrade might be that a veteran served honorably and had a single bad incident or was abusing drugs or alcohol as a means of self-medicating post-traumatic stress disorder.
You can apply to the Discharge Review Board (DRB) of your branch of the service for a discharge upgrade or a change in the discharge reason (that is, character of service). Each service branch has its own DRB, which is tasked with evaluating discharge upgrade requests.
Most, if not all, employers would therefore avoid hiring these individuals, thus making it difficult to find meaningful employment. In addition, persons discharged with an OTH will lose out on significant benefits. If you have been discharged with this type of discharge you might feel as though you have been short changed or cheated by the government. You are, however, eligible for review with your service’s Discharge Review Board (DRB). You may strongly want to consider hiring a discharge upgrade lawyer to increase your chances of obtaining an upgrade. In some cases, a discharge upgrade lawyer will be able to upgrade you from an OTH to an Honorable. In other cases, you might only be able to obtain an upgrade from an OTH to General. Discharge upgrade lawyer Brett O’Brien will fight for the highest possible discharge level. Each individual case will vary. Even in those scenarios where it is only possible to upgrade you to a General (as opposed to an Honorable), however, it is important to keep in mind that there are many benefits that you can obtain with a General that you cannot otherwise receive with an OTH, as can be seen on the Benefits at Separation Chart.
An Honorable Discharge is the highest-level of discharge that a service member can obtain. It reflects a service member who has served with distinction. Those who receive an Honorable Discharge will receive all rights and benefits afforded to veterans. General, Under Honorable Conditions.
You will need to submit evidence that your service was honorable. An experienced military discharge upgrade lawyer will be best equipped to help you prepare this evidence.
Punitive discharge, meant to be punishing, is given by court-martial. Military Discharge Upgrade Lawyers work to change your type of discharge to a more favorable class.
The civilian population commonly believes that there are two types of military discharge: honorable discharge or dishonorable discharge . However, this is not the case. While there are two broad types of military discharge, Administrative and Punitive, each of these has many sub-categories.
Dishonorable Discharges are like Bad Conduct Discharges. However, they are punitive rather than administrative.
Usually enlisting in the U.S. armed forces requires an eight-year commitment. This usually comes with a combination of active and reserve service. Service men and women who voluntarily separate themselves from active duty with fewer than 8 years fulfill the rest of their commitment with the IRR. The IRR is the Individual Ready Reserve. Members that are seriously disabled are retired, known as a medical retirement, rather than discharged.
You can begin by applying for VA compensation or pension through your local Veterans Service Office. Also, you can apply through eBenefits. Since you received an OTH, a Character of Service review will be triggered. This will start a review at the VA regional office. It will determine if your service was honorable enough for you to be able to receive VA health care and compensation.
In most cases, your compensation will originally be denied if you have an OTH discharge. However, those with General Discharges are generally eligible for all VA benefits except educational ones through the GI bill.
Step 1: Determine Where to Apply: In order to begin the process of a Discharge Upgrade, an applicant will first want to determine where they need to apply for their upgrade. This will depend on your branch of service, your date of discharge, and the type of changes you want made to your military record.
If instead of an equitable claim, you are claiming illegality, or “impropriety,” then you are claiming that the military didn’t follow its own rules when it discharged you. Since this is a serious charge, you will need to explain how the military ignored or misapplied a specific rule, regulation, law, or procedure that was in effect at the time of your discharge.
You have 15 years from the date of your discharge to apply to a DRB. To apply to a BCMR or the BCNR, you are required to apply within three years of the date you first discover the error or injustice that you are seeking to correct. There are three exceptions to this rule:
You can change the character of your military discharge by performing a Discharge Upgrade or by obtaining a Change in the Narrative Reason for Your Separation. Finally, you may also request a Character of Discharge Determination from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). This does not change your discharge characterization, but can restore some of your VA benefits. To read more about this process click here .
A DRB considers two basic issues: “equity” (fairness) and “propriety” (legal error).
As a veteran, this is important because the nature of your military discharge can affect your civil liberties such as the ability to possess a firearm or the ability to obtain benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). You can change the character of your military discharge by performing a Discharge Upgrade or by obtaining ...
To help with this we offer a comprehensive Military Discharge Relief Analysis for $300, which allows us to review your record in order to provide you with a roadmap to the best approach to obtain your relief. The cost of the Analysis may then be applied towards your eligible service. A portion of this cost will then be applied as a credit towards your eligible service, should you decide to pursue it. The credit ranges from $100-$200 depending on the number of violations or cases on your record.
What Is a Discharge Upgrade? A discharge upgrade changes the “character of service” shown on your DD-214. Those who leave the military with other than honorable discharges often are denied Veterans Affairs benefits, including healthcare.
The DRB has limited authority, and may not review upgrade packages from a discharge stemming from a General Court-Martial, or grant/change a disability discharge. A DRB gives two opportunities for review, a records review or an in-person hearing.
You can reach us at (202) 600-4996.
When it comes to your military discharge upgrade, it is important that you understand that your case may involve a two-step process. You will first have the opportunity to petition the board for an upgrade in writing. In the event that your written submission is denied, you will then have the opportunity to request an in-person hearing to present your case. Thus, it is important that you understand the fees that your chosen lawyer will charge for both of these scenarios so that you can plan accordingly.
In the event that your written submission is denied, you will then have the opportunity to request an in-person hearing to present your case. Thus, it is important that you understand the fees that your chosen lawyer will charge for both of these scenarios so that you can plan accordingly.
At the National Security Law Firm, we are truly transparent in our fee structure. There are never any hidden costs or fees and we will never ask you for additional money to represent you in the written petition or hearing process. Moreover, you should be aware that some attorneys are very clever in their fee structures and make it sound like their services are lower in cost when they truly are not. If you are shopping around for a military discharge upgrade lawyer, we cannot stress how important it is for you to understand how your attorney charges, as well as exactly what is included — and not included — in their fee.
In most cases, you need to file a petition within 15 years of your discharge.
Our attorney assists service members those who have been discharged and now wish to upgrade or correct errors in their discharge. As long as your discharge was not part of a general courts-martial, the relevant DRB has the ability to review the character, reason and authority of your discharge.
Our attorney, a military defense lawyer with more than 20 years ’ service with the Marines and another 20 years of representing service members dealing with a wide range legal matters involving investigations, disciplinary hearings, courts-martial and civilian criminal cases.