Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 3/20/2010

Question
Mr. Lorenz,

My name is Alston. For the past two years I have been attempting to join the United States military. I am prior service and unfortunately got into some trouble while in tech school. I am sure by now you have heard it all so I will try to keep this short and to the point.

I was AD Air Force from May 2006 to April 2007 I ultimately was discharged for failing out of tech school and refusing to reclass. I had recently married another active duty airmen and would have been denied joint spouse. Prior to failing out of class I had been in trouble for suspicion of cheating and being found in a member of the opposite sex's room. That female is who I later married. The accusation of cheating was completely untrue. The test I was accused of cheating on was a memorization test where I had to learn 150 countries and capitols and the major bodies of water in the world. The issue was that another airmen was giving me answers to the test(all of the material was on the test and the test was a blank map with letters and numbers#. I presented this to the commander and was still punished for it. I understand why the commander sided with the NCO's instead of me, but at the time I was angry and acted out. I eventually got  my head on straight, but not before receiving a Letter of Counseling and a Letter of Reprimand for the issues. By the time I failed out of class I had cleaned up my act enough to be allowed to move off base and to phase back up to the highest phase in the phase program.

As I stated in the beginning for the last two years I have attempted to join the military in any capacity. My wife's enlistment ends here in another week and I really would like to pick up where she is leaving off. I have tried every branch with the exception of the Coast Guard. Air Force Reserve and Army Reserve were the only two even willing to process a waiver for me. The AF Reserve denied my waiver and the Army Reserve has said that my separation code is causing issues with my application.

My question to you is, is there anything I can do to get back into the military? I would really like to make a career out of this and it is my dream to one day commission. I have already been accepted to Penn State in Pennsylvania where there is an Army ROTC program. I have 17 credits with a 3.8 GPA.

Would I be able to do ROTC even if the Army Reserve isn't accepting me as an enlisted member?

Is there any other branch that will take me?

If no branch will have me is there a way to change my discharge so that I may join?

I have 16 letters of recommendation from members of the military#E-5 and up) and 2 from civilian employers.

I am pretty much willing to do anything to make this work. Thank you for any help that you can provide.

-Alston

My discharge was characterized as Honorable with an RE code 2C and Separation code JHJ.

Answer
Alston,
Hi!  This is Colonel Howell.  I'm answering this for you while Mr. Lorenz is away.

As you know, hindsight is 20/20 and we've all done things we'd like to go back and change.
Fortunately your discharge was honorable and that helps a lot.  A Reenlistment Eligibility code of RE-2C mean exactly:  Involuntary separation with Honorable discharge.  Individuals with an Air Force RE Code of "2" are usually ineligible to reenlist in the Air Force, but may be eligible to join another military service, if the circumstances which resulted in the code no longer apply, or if a waiver is issued.

Your Separation Code of JHJ means exactly:  USAF Unsuitability (Reason Unknown)/ Unsatisfactory performance

I agree that your best chance probably lies with the Army Reserves.  I imagine the reason they're having issues with your separation code is because of the vague classification of "Reason Unknown".  At this point all they have for a reason is YOUR WORD.

You should be able to enter ROTC with no problem.  Just explain you've now grown up quite a bit, are married and settled down, and would like another try at serving your country.  How can you deny that logic?

Give it a try and let me know sometime how it goes for you.
Colonel H