Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/questions about reenlisting

Advertisement

Expert: Rod Powers - 5/6/2007


Question
my question is if i want to try to reenlist what is the best route .... basically i was on a profile for an injury i took in airborne school on my second jump waiting to clear so i could return to airborne school...... one day i am handed a set of orders from an NCO (whom wanted me to get rid of me) to report to ft lee as i had been reclassed to cook from a rigger ..... i went AWOL ... but since i hadn't finished AIT and was still on profile .... i shouldn't have been allowed to leave ft benning should i? ... and i thought i had to sign a paper for a reclass .... anyhow .... i never wanted out and i only want back in ..... how do i go about trying?

Answer
Hi Terry,

Your follow-up message indicates you received an Other-Than-Honorable administrative discharge and an RE-Code (reenlistment eligibility code) of "4" on your DD Form 214 (Record of Military Service).

I'm sorry, but with an "Other Than Honorable Discharge," your chances of re-enlisting in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces is zero. It ain't going to happen.

Your only possible chance is to try and convince the Army Discharge Review Board that the discharge as "inequitable" or "improper," and ask that the discharge characterization be considered for upgrade.

Details about how to request consideration for a discharge upgrade can be found in my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/dischargeupg.htm

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

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com  

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

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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).

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.