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The Vanishing Honorable Discharge
The Vanishing Honorable Discharge
Once upon a time in America a veteran's "Character of Discharge" was considered the final word in determining whether or not a vet was fully employable by any company or eligible for all Veteran Administration benefits. But, recently, special codes placed on a veteran’s Certificate of Release from Active Duty (DD-214) are replacing the Character of Discharge as the sole determinant by some who decide whether to hire a vet or allow the vet to fully utilize the VA benefits he or she is legally entitled to. A growing number of veterans who earn an Honorable (character of) Discharge are finding that receiving America's highest thanks for serving is often meaningless to a prospective employer or nullified by a veteran service officer ignorant of DoD's official DD-214 policy guidelines. Fifty years ago when Harvey J. enlisted in the Army he was told that aside from obeying lawful orders his most important military goal was to obtain an Honorable Discharge. "The type of discharge you get", Harvey's Drill Sergeant told him, "will follow you everywhere you go for the rest of your life. Go for an Honorable Discharge and you will be never be turned down by anybody. But if you get a less-than-honorable discharge you will be regret it for the rest of your life." Years ago those words held serious meaning. Today those words ring hollow for millions of discharging military personnel who earned their Honorable Discharge but are forever stigmatized by special codes and descriptors that have come to replace a veteran's overall Character of Service. Thousands of new veterans are finding that possessing an Honorable Discharge is meaningless if they also possess an SPD (Separation Program Designator) or RE (Re-Entry) code that casts an uncomplimentary reflection on their overall military conduct, or the military's decision to accept them back should they later desire to return to military service. SPD, SPN (Separation Program Number) and RE codes are issued to all discharging military personnel. These codes are placed on the DD-214 form and provide any who see the DD-214 a summary and characterization of the veteran's military service. These codes are intended solely for use by military recruiters for re-enlistment review and the Department of Defense for statistical analysis. However, an increasing number of employers, Veterans Administration service officers, law enforcement agencies and prospective mates are using these codes to base decisions on employment, veteran benefit eligibility, criminal behavior modeling and marital compatibility. Shortly after the Vietnam War when thousands of military personnel faced post-war, DoD drawdowns, negative SPN and SPD codes were handed out like speeding tickets at the Indy 500. Because private employers were discovered to be using these codes to deny employment during the so-called “nutty Vietnam veteran scare”, regardless of the veteran's "Character of Discharge" being Honorable, The Ford and subsequent Carter Administrations ordered DoD to reduce its use of SPN/SPD codes and directed VA to assist veterans in obtaining a new DD-214 that did not list the codes. For a very brief time SPD and SPN codes disappeared from military use. But as America’s all-volunteer military kicked-in full steam, DoD found it necessary to provide additional reference data for military recruiters to help identify and screen-out individuals who performed less than model service in one branch then attempted to re-enlist in another branch. Hence, SPD codes were restored with a vengeance. The use and abuse of SPD codes have risen steadily since and have produced more chaos and pain in the lives of innocent veterans that make their post-Vietnam use relatively innocent in comparison. To compromise with the former policy of removing the SPN, SPD and RE code from the DD-214, DoD created a new policy of issuing discharged veterans two copies of their DD-214. One of the copies (Copy 1) does not contain any codes. The second copy (Copy 4) contains not only the SPD code but a clear text definition of the SPD code called the Narrative Reason Of Separation, or NROS, which was never used on previous DD-214's. (Lists of SPD and SPN codes during the 1970’s and 1980’s were supposedly unavailable from official sources yet hundreds of unauthorized persons and private businesses were finding copies of the lists easily obtainable). But, now comes the Catch-22. As a means of ensuring that all personnel receive Copy 4 which contains an SPD code and NROS definition, DoD also places the veteran's Character of Discharge (Honorable, General, etc.,) on Copy 4, but not on Copy 1. In short, a veteran is not issued a DD-214 that shows he or she received an Honorable Discharge unless they 'request' a DD-214 that might also list negative information assigned by a non-commissioned officer or arbitrarily decided by a mid-level civilian clerk conducting the veteran’s discharge 'out-processing'. Here are two examples of veterans who received Honorable Discharges but feel wrongfully harmed by their SPD code and NROS: JOE M. During Basic Training Joe injured his back while performing a rope-climbing exercise. To help Joe through the first days following his injury a military MD at the Post Hospital prescribed a morphine-based pain suppressant. Shortly after being taken off the medication Joe’s platoon underwent a routine, unannounced drug test. Expectedly, Joe’s test came back as positive. But despite a detailed report and passionate defense from his attending physician that Joe's pain medication accounted for the positive test result and was nothing more than the by-product of a residual, unassimilated legal medication, Joe was unable to remove the derogatory test data from his military file. Three years later, the civilian clerk processing Joe's discharge paperwork noted the test result and despite acknowledging that Joe had been awarded the Good Conduct, Bronze Star and National Defense Service Medals, she assigned Joe the Department of Defense SPD code for drug use and the "Misconduct, Drug Abuse" NROS. Joe now worries daily because his DD-214 gives the appearance that he was, or remains, a chronic, illegal drug user. JANE B. Jane had served three and one half years of her four year enlistment prior to meeting her future husband. Her total service went without a single blemish on her exemplary record. She received back-to-back high performance evaluations from each of her Commanding Officers. Several weeks before her discharge Jane became pregnant but did not consider it necessary, nor was it required, to file an official medical condition report because the baby's birth was scheduled many months after her discharge date. However, when making the required visit to a re-enlistment officer prior to discharging, Jane gave her pregnancy and upcoming marriage as reasons for not re-enlisting. A few weeks later while going though normal out-processing Jane was assigned an SPD code and NROS for “pregnancy” rather than “normal expiration of service” due to the fulfillment of her enlistment contract. Jane and her husband of five years now suffer from anxiety that members of their church or future employers may attribute these military-issued designators to lacking moral judgment or character. To further ensure that a veteran is forced to obtain Copy Number 4 (of the 8-copy) DD-214 which lists the SPD code and NROS description, the vet is directed to officially request this copy, signature required. At the same time, military and civilian clerks issuing Copy 4 sometimes translate the 'request' option applying to Copy 4 to mean that Copy 1 should not be provided to the veteran because no “request” requirement for Copy 1 appears mandated. Consequently, thousands of veterans who are entitled to receive Copy 1 automatically must later apply to the National Records and Personnel Center for it. But, again, Copy 1 provides no real substance for the veteran seeking employment or VA benefits because Copy 1 does not list the veteran’s Character of Discharge. REMEDY What is needed to protect the veteran's employment future and VA benefit eligibility is a total reconstruction of the DD-214 that will provide issuance of a Copy 1 that clearly displays Character of Discharge but does not list SPD or RE codes, which can remain on Copy 4 and continue to be issued on a formal 'request' basis. Additionally, a new federal law or Executive Order, which hold greater weight than a DoD policy statement, should be enacted that unmistakably prohibits all non-DoD persons/agencies from requesting Copy 4 from a veteran. Honorable or Under Honorable Conditions service in the United States military should be restored to its historic classification without qualification under dozens of often negative subcategories. A veteran who has served Honorably should not be made to suffer loss of employment or rejection of VA benefits simply because although he or she served honorably and received an Honorable Discharge, an incident or misinterpretation during their service leaves them permanently tainted with a cloud of criminal conduct or absence of moral integrity hanging over their heads. A copy of the Department of Defense official DD-214 policy can be found at URL: http://member.aol.com/warlibrary/policy.htm Permission to publish/re-distribute freely granted. |
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