Expert: Howard Lorenz - 4/10/2008

Question
Hi,
My son received a general discharge under honorable conditions after 1 year of active duty in the ARMY after testing positive for marijuana 2 times through random urine tests.

He received an re-code of 4 and has completed the form dd293 requesting a change to the re-entry code re-3 so he is at least eligible to talk to a recruiter and request a waiver to re-enter.

My son contacted our state Congressman who has written a letter of support to the review board and also forwarded his dd293 with a letter to the board.

My son requested the change to code for reasons being inequitable because he was being judged for 2 incidents over a year that does not fully represent him as an individual. He also requested the board to use clemency if they did not approve. He stressed that his reason for the request was to re-enlist.

Based on this information, do you believe the review board will grant him a change in the re-code and if not, what course of action or recommendation do you have for him to get his code changed?

thank you
Sincerely,
Roseena

Answer
I know that people change, but the military has a zero tolorance policy when it comes to drugs. Yesterday an Airman tested postive for drugs, today he is a civillian with no benifits and a dishonorable discharge. The fact that he has a congressional letter of support is helpful in the decision making process, but I would not expect that it will be approved, but in todays military, anything is possible. I would not give up hope, but expect the worse.