Expert: Rod Powers - 5/31/2007

Question
My husband has been in the Navy for 6.5 years.  He is an E5 and he is being discharged later this year on an admin discharge.  The reason is he has failed too many PRT's.  Is he eligible to re-enlist once he maintains the standards needed?  He has had medical issues that started over 2 years ago that has caused the weight gain but the discharge will not pertain to medical at all.  If he can re-enlist does he loose his E5 rank and does he have to re-enlist as the same rate?

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Whether or not he will be eligible to re-enlist at a later time depends primarily upon the RE Code (Reenlistment Eligibility Code) his commanding officer elects to enter on his DD Form 214 (Record of Military Service).

An RE Code of "1" means the member is eligibile to reenlist with no restrictions (it's unlikely your husband will receive this code for a PRT failure discharge).

An RE Code of "2" or "3" means he could possibly reenlist, after a waiting period (usually 12 months), with a waiver. In order to be considered for a waiver, he would have to convince the Navy that the original reason for a discharge no longer applies and is not likely to happen again.

An RE Code of "4" generally means the person is not eligible for re-enlistment.

From what I've seen, most Navy PRT failure discharges have been receiving RE Codes of "3," but the commanding officer has a lot of discretion in this area.

Whether or not he retains his E-5 paygrade or will have to reenlist in the same rate depends on a few factors. For details, see my article about Prior Service Enlistments at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/priorservice.htm

One final point. Because your husband has more than six years of service, upon discharge, he will be paid severence pay (involuntary discharge pay). See the charts at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/2007paycharts/a/seppay.htm

If he reenlists at a later date, he will be required to repay any involuntary separation pay he receives (He won't have to pay it back all at once. A payment plan will be set up and the amount deducted from his military pay).

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com