| COUNSELING LEAFLETS |
These checklists are designed for people who have recently been trained in military counseling, and can be used as an aid when talking with a soldier or sailor about discharges. They are designed only as general guidelines or reminders; for specific information about the criteria for each discharge, users should refer to CCCO's Helping Out and regulations governing the discharge.
The following are general descriptions of the major discharge categories, which can be used in explaining the discharges to GIs. They are not definitive explanations of the criteria for the discharges, but rather explanations that can help the GI to decide whether or not the discharge is worth exploring. It is important to remember that many soldiers and sailors have received incorrect or incomplete information about discharges from their commands.Hardship Discharge
A member of the GI's immediate family, or someone who has lived as part of his/her family for five years or more, has a very serious medical, psychiatric or financial problem. They need the GI home to help them, and no other member of the family can or will take GI's place in giving that help. Discharge can be requested if the condition is expected to last a year or more; humanitarian transfer can be requested for shorter-term problems. The problem must be very serious and very well documented. The GI's personal financial problems normally are not grounds for this discharge.
Medical Discharge or Retirement
The GI has a physical or psychiatric condition which, when it is acting up, would interfere with his/her ability to perform military duties. Usually it must be difficult to treat or cure the condition. If the condition arose during or was aggravated by military service, it may be grounds for medical retirement with a pension or separation with a lump sum payment. Since there are hundreds of medical problems that qualify, the soldier's ailment should be checked against the service's medical retention standards.
Conscientious Objection
Since he/she enlisted, the GI has developed a religious, moral or ethical objection to participating in a war in any form, based on an objection to killing others in a military setting. The objection must be to all wars, but the person need not object to all violence or to killing in self-defense or defense of loved ones (so long as that killing is outside of a military setting). The beliefs must be sincere and deeply held.
Homosexuality
The GI has engaged in, or simply desires or intends to engage in, gay sex, or has married someone of the same sex. The military thinks that hugging or kissing, or any touching intended to gratify sexual desires, constitutes sex. Bisexuality is also a ground for discharge. Admitting to certain sexual activity may be grounds for a bad discharge or even a court-martial, so it is important to limit the information given to the military according to the language of the regulations.
Other Designated Physical and Mental Conditions
The most common reasons for this discharge are psychological problems call personality disorders. A personality disorder must be severe, and must usually interfere with the soldier's ability to handle military life, in order to qualify. Other reasons for discharge include sleepwalking, motion sickness, bedwetting, obesity (after failing a weight control program), excessive height, certain allergies and similar "problems" that would interfere with military duties. These reasons vary slightly from service to service.
Contract Violations
The GI was promised something in writing or in front of a witness by the recruiter, and didn't receive it. The promise must have been part of the reason the GI enlisted. The discharge has to be requested within 30 days after the lie is discovered, or should have been discovered. Or, the recruit and recruiter were both unaware of some condition or problem that would have prevented the enlistment if it had been discovered. Or, the recruiter falsified information about the GI to make him/her appear eligible for enlistment.
Miscellaneous Discharges
The GI may also qualify for discharge if he/she is under 18 and didn't get written parental permission to enlist (if both parents have custody, both must give permission); he/she is not a citizen of this country; he/she has consistent problems in performing military duties, usually including two bad performance evaluations; he/she is having serious trouble adapting to military life within the first 180 days of active duty; he/she has been recommended for and failed or refused a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program; she is pregnant or has just given birth; he/she has sole custody of a minor child and would therefore would have trouble performing military duties or to being available for worldwide assignment (the parent must normally have sole custody).