Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 9/19/2009

Question
my nephew recently went to boot camp at the medical exam they noted he had arthritis in his knees. The doctor wanted to send him out on an admin. med, discharge. Then they said he had lied about his knees,and would get a dishonorable discharge. He has been a  baseball catcher since he was small and up to this spring in collage.  All catchers have sore knees. He continued to run and be active  right up to leaving for basic. Now they tell him  they will not go ahead with the discharge as long as he never complains about his knees. I am a nurse I know what kind of permanent damage could be done to his joints if they insist  on pushing this or the legal damage  a  dis-honorable discharge would do. If he gets to call again what advice would I give?c

Answer
There is something fishy about how all that's going down. Either your nephew is leaving something out or he's dealing with some shady people in the military. He should be getting this stuff in writing. Tell him to take everything to an attorney on base and see what they say. He is afforded that right and they can't deny him the opportunity to see counsel. He should bring all the paperwork they give him and get a legal opinion. He should NOT SIGN anything until this happens. He shouldn't worry about a dishonorable discharge. That can only be given in a trial by court martial and they would not usually take him to trial for this, even if they suspect him of fraudulent entry.. its not worth their time. Just tell him to keep cool, seek legal counsel, and then make an informed decision.