Gotta quershun for the miltary folks.....

[Big Muddy]

I've got an out-of-state buddy whose son enlisted in the Navy about 60 days ago.....his parents were incredibly proud of him.....however, he returned home in his civies, a few days ago, with an honorable discharge in his hand.....he is so upset and embarrassed, that he won't talk to his parents about the details of his dismissal.
I've heard of this happening, but very rarely.....usually, it's the result of a physical problem.
My buddy called and asked me if his son would qualify for any benefits, since he was honorably discharged.....honestly, I don’t think he will, but things could have changed from years ago.
Any input from you guys???

[Thumper]

Sumpin' sure sounds weird. Was it an honorable discharge, a medical discharge or a general discharge? At any rate, as far as I know, he will not qualify for benefits. I'm 90% sure you have to serve at least 90-days during war time and have an honorable discharge (anything other than dishonorable actually). I'm not sure, but I believe if he served non-wartime service, I'm pretty sure it's 6-months (or possibly 1-year?). This may sound stupid, but I don't even know if military service right now is considered wartime as there has been no war declared as far as I know. Then again, Vietnam was officially considered a "conflict" as the U.S. never declared war on Vietnam, yet we hear all the time about the "Vietnam War" and Vietnam vets definitely qualify for benefits. It's the same exact scenario with Korea. In fact, the US hasn't declared war on ANY country since 1942, so it's kind of hard to understand the terminology.

What it boils down to is, I don't believe he served long enough to qualify, but he really should get that determination officially from the VA. My bet is, he's SOL.

[Big Muddy]

Thump, like I said, it was an honorable discharge.....that's what led me to believe that the young man may have had a physical irregularity or an injury.

Several years ago, I know of a local young man who received a bad head injury, during basic training, while involved in hand-to-hand combat training.....he, too, was dismissed from further military service, and received an honorable discharge.

To be honest, I thought the young man should have received some benefits or compensation because his mental condition and capacity were mildly, but permanently affected.....a few years later, he committed suicide.

[Thumper]

I’m clueless Muddy. The weird thing is his refusal to talk about it. That in itself throws up red flags for me. All it takes is a phone call for him to check out any benefits available, but he’s gonna have to drop his secretiveness, or at minimum, find out for himself. You know the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water .....

If I remember correctly, part of the discharge package outlines any benefits available as well as sources and contact info for any information needed.

Sumpin’s kind’a strange here. Do you know the kid at all? Or just the parents? Heck, for all I know, they could have assigned him to submarine duty and found he suffers from claustrophobia! But I would assume that would simply lead to reassignment (like a desk job for example or as a supply clerk or sumpin'). If it were the above scenario and serious enough for a discharge, I’d assume it would be classified as medical. Who knows?

[Thumper]

Here ya' go. Try to wade through all the gobblety-gook and the answer MIGHT be here someplace.


https://www.thebalancecareers.com/do-you-qualify-for-veteran-s-benefits-3345150

[Big Muddy]

No, I don't know the young man, only the parents.....but, I'm pretty sure the kid is devastated because of possibly disappointing his parents and friends.....they even had a big "signing-up" party and celebration for the kid, when he joined up.....like you said, something is hinky about all of this.
I'll be finding out more in the next week or so, and the real reason for his dismissal.

[Thumper]

Yeah, who knows? He could have been caught boinking a classmate in the shower at boot camp. With today's "don't want to offend anybody" attitude, they may hand out honorable discharges like "participation trophies" just so he doesn't get his feelings hurt. (sorry, it's no joke I'm sure, but this whole "don't want to talk about it thing" just seems weird).

[Big Muddy]

You very well may be correct.....for all I know, he coulda grabbed the admiral's crotch. ;)

[Thumper]

Ha ha ha! That reminds me of a Thump story from my VERY early military days, except it happened to be the Commander's daughter. I don't even remember his rank (it was THAT early for me). I didn't get busted, but he was "looking for me". Luckily she didn't rat me out since she was a willing participant! ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Do they still do guaranteed job enlistments? I know people that took an honorable discharge out of tech school because they went in guaranteed a specific job and then couldn’t get a clearance. They were then given a choice between continuing in another job they pick for you or you get a ticket home with an honorable dd214.

I don’t think he does or should qualify for veteran bennies.

BKB

[Thumper]

That is a possibility I didn’t think of. The son of a friend of ours did that very same thing. He went to some school to be assigned to a nuclear submarine, but couldn’t get a clearance (never knew why) and washed out. He did accept alternate duty though and remained in the Navy.

The big question is, did he enlist knowing what he wanted to do? If he was in 60-days, he would have most likely been denied a clearance by time he was out of boot and before entering AIT (or whatever the Navy calls it). It’s not like he’d enter school, THEN find out his clearance was denied. (I don’t think)

[BarryBobPosthole]

I got my clearance at the endof my tech school. The BI part started when I filled out my DD398 when I entered tech school.

I’m not saying that’s it. But it would check most of the boxes, including the embarrassment factor.

BkB

[Thumper]

True. I guess my training was a little different. We had to have our clearance before entering spy school because some of the intel gathering methods and equipment we trained on was classified. But you’re correct about having the boxes checked. I just wonder why he didn’t opt for a different assignment instead of coming home with his tail between his legs? Of course we can speculate forever. Maybe he’ll open up over time.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I had trouble with my clearance due to a bogus background report given by the owner of a bar I had worked at for a short time. He told the DISA guy that I had stolen a police car and wrecked it. Which is a pretty stupid story and the guy was effing with me. Nonetheless it went to my tech school squadron commander and he denied me. I vowed to fight it and did. Met with, and wrote a big statement to the DIS (Defense Investigative Services), including asking if their field agent had even check to see if any cop cars got stolen and wrecked in Oklahoma during that time. During all of this, I met a 40 year old two striper at CBPO (base personnel) named Cisco Dean He was a riffed captain who was just finishing out his time to retirement. He took it to the base SP commander who approved it and I got my clearance. Had I not ran into that guy, I’d have probably got out myownself since that whole deal was such chickenshit.

BKb

[Thumper]

Huh? The FIRST thing they’d do is pull up your criminal record. If it didn’t show there, it didn’t exist. Or did you supposedly do all that, without getting caught and he was ratting you out? Heck, on my background check, I got word the feds even talked to people I went to grade school with! I was surprised at how far back they went and how many people they talked to. Now, then again, I was cleared for the highest clearance in existence at the time (Top Secret Crypto), so that may have something to do with the in depth investigating. I was cleared for ANYTHING, but the “need-to-know” factor kicked in in some areas. Heck, I don’t even know what clearance levels they have these days. I’m a dinosaur.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Mine was top secret bi. I’m not sure what they checked. My asshole tech school commander was an old as shit Captain who prolly couldn’t do any real world jobs. The Air Force was full of maggots in those days, as you well know.
Funny thing, I went back to tech school tdy for some additional training two years later and he was over the ‘transient barracks’, which was even lower on the pole. My old first shirt was there too. Our softball team was interesting since we had new playersthere almost every week.
Good times! I had sewn on buck by then and was unfuckable by assholes like that.
BkB