Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 11/4/2009

Question
Sir, my name is Doug Martin. I was enlisted in the Navy for just under a year and was discharged back in 2007. The reason for my discharge was for asthma. I was told by a military doctor that i had asthma, and kicked out because of his report. I have been active with sports my whole life and went through part of the Bud/s program and have yet to ever have any trouble breathing. The doctor's note read that i had a history of asthma before entering the military and i have documents to disprove this statement. Soon after getting out of the military i took another asthma test conducted by a civilian doctor and my pulmonary results are much higher than average. i have sent in two appeals to the naval board of corrections and all i have had changed is my discharge to an honorable. However i still have an RE4. From what i understand, this code is generally given to those with behavioral problems and i never got into any trouble. My goals are to reenlist and reenter the BUD/s program, this time with a much more clear head. I am planning on hiring a military attorney to help me with this matter, but before i spend any money i was hoping that you could offer me some better advice. Thank you.

           -Doug


Answer
Doug,
I'm sorry to hear you were shafted unfairly.  If you had only known at the time that free legal help was available you may not have had all this trouble.  But you know what they say about hindsight.

The regs say, "Individuals with a Navy RE Code of "4" are normally not eligible to reenlist in the Navy or join another service. "  So it sounds to me like it's "not normal" but not "impossible."

At this point, hiring an attorney who specializes in military is about your only option.  It may be expensive initially, but worth it in the long run.

Good luck,
Colonel H