Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 3/9/2010

Question
i recieved a general discharge from the army get demoted to e-1 can i come back in as a e-4 after i recieve a degree. also while i was in. i re enlisted for another 4yrs and recieved a 8,000 bonus. i only completed one year of it before i recieved the general discharge. when im eligible to go back can i just sign up for 3 and waive my bonus if the army is giving out bonus to cover my previous bonus.

Answer
You'd have to look at your RE code and what your discharge was for. It may not be possible to come back in at all. Once you look into that and you can come back in, it may be possible to come in as an E4 unless you took the discharge in lieu of courts martial or some other punitive action.  As far as the bonus goes, no.. each contract represents a separate transaction between you and the government and will be treated as such for bonus payments or the like.