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Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Discharge for failing initial drug test at Naval Boot Camp

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Expert: Rod Powers - 5/3/2007


Question
I signed up for the Navy in either 1994 or 1995. On the day we were to be stamped "fit for full duty", I was told I was being kicked out for failing the drug test. I cannot remember what kind of discharge I was given. Could you please help me out? Also, I need to know the steps to go about getting the discharge changed. I am working for a company now that requires me to have a secret level security clearance. They told me that my initial request for an interim clearance was denied. I think that this discharge is the reason.

Answer
Hi Danny,

Well, first of all, you have to find out what kind of discharge you were given. That means you need to request a copy of your Military records from the National Military Personnel Records Center. Details about how to do so can be found at: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/milrecords.htm

Once you receive a copy of your Military Records, you can apply to the appropriate Military Discharge Review Board to consider an upgrade for your discharge (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/dischargeupg.htm).

However, I wouldn't get my hopes up. The board generally only upgrades discharges if you can convince the board that your discharge characterization was "Inequitable," or "improper." (These terms are explained in the article.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard

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Rod Powers

Expertise

Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.

Experience

Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.

Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).

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