Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 8/28/2009

Question
My name is donald graves and I was in from june 7 99 through april 19 04. After coming back from iraq I had several prob dealing with the stress from being over there and coming home to walking in on my wife having sex with one of my friends. With dealing with that I made the biggest mistake of my life and turned to drugs. I regret it everyday. I enrolled myself into asap and my chain of command started to give me uranalizes well I failed and the proceeded to chapter me out. I applied for an upgraded discharge and they upgraded it to an honorable but did not change my re code. I have recently put in for an upgrade for that but they denied it. I was wondering if going to my congressman and asking him to write me a letter of recomendation would help at all? I know I was in the wrong for my actions and I have been clean from drugs and alcohol for 5 years now. I don't know what I can do to get back in I hope you can stear me in the right place.

Answer
Honestly I dont think you can do anything except keep writing and appealing through the same channels you have been. The more support you have in terms of letters and people vouching for you, the better your chances will be, but it will be a serious undertaking and a long path. Going to your congressman is an avenue, but be prepared to answer hard questions about your substance abuse and actions afterwards. Also, be prepared for their rejection. It is still worth a try. I wish you luck.