Discharged Cadet wants to serve

johnny1825

5-Year Member
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Jul 19, 2011
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My son made a foolish decision that cost him a separation from West Point. He resigned in lieu of an investigation. He still has every desire to become an Army Officer. He was told by the Trial Defense Service that he could have his General Discharge under honorable conditions upgraded to an Honorable Discharge after six months. We have discovered that he will not be able to get into ROTC until this discharge status is changed. He is now realizing that his foolishness is lasting longer than he ever imagined.

Several Questions:

1. Is the upgrade as easy as TDS said? They said that all he had to do was fill out the appropriate form.
2. Are there any documents needed to accompany the upgrade form?
3. Since we are trying to enroll in the Spring and get into ROTC in the fall do we have to wait six months to submit the paperwork.

Please help. Thanks.
 
no expert, but you son might have gotten a bad advice

See the website below, Army Discharge Review Board


http://arba.army.pentagon.mil/adrb-faq.cfm

Question: Is my discharge automatically upgraded after six months?
Answer: No. There is no automatic upgrade of a discharge after six months or any other time period. Changes or upgrades in discharges are only made if there is a proven error, injustice, or inequity in the discharge. You must provide with your application evidence and supporting documents to show that there is an error, injustice, or inequity in your discharge. You may apply for a discharge review online at http://actsonline.army.mil and send the signature page and evidence as instructed by the online program – or - you may print a blank DD Form 293 from this website under Army Discharge Review Board application procedures, fill in the form and mail it with your evidence to the address shown on the reverse of the form.

Another thing he might have to get change is his Reentry Code on his DD214.

Question: Can the Army Discharge Review Board change my Reentry Eligibility (RE) code?
Answer: The RE code (Reentry Eligibility code) is determined by the reason for separation, not the character of separation.

According to Army Regulation 601-210 (Regular Army and Army Reserve Enlistment Program), the Reentry Eligibility (RE) code can only be changed if an incorrect code was entered. For this type of correction, please send a letter and a copy of your DD Form 214 to the following address requesting the correction:

Commander
US Army Human Resources Command
Attention: Retention Branch (AHRC-EPF)
Alexandria, VA 22331-0450

The RE code is not upgraded to allow enlistment. Soldiers separated with an RE-3 or RE-4 code must seek a waiver from a recruiter to enlist. Depending on the type of discharge and disqualification, a waiver may not be possible.

Best wishes.
 
Thanks for the information.
The did not give him an RE code on his 214. They put N/A in the box. I wondered if they treated cadets differently than enlisted. Do you have any idea why they left it blank?
 
In addition to what has been said here...most recruiters, ROTC, etc will also refer to the DD785 which will outline the reasons/record of disenrollment. The rankings of 1 and 2 are usually approved by ROTC at the colleges yet 3-6 ranking need to be approved by Cadet Command. In addition to DD214, this is also a very important document for your DS' future. If your DS wants to continue his committment to serve in our military then I suggest that you wait for all documents and speak to the legal department at West Point. Once you have been cleared by your DS via FERPA (1974 Privacy Act waiver) to speak with them...then perhaps someone there can direct you as to how best to help your son. I have dealt with this at another Academy and I know this to be true...Best wishes to you and your family.
 
1. Is the upgrade as easy as TDS said? They said that all he had to do was fill out the appropriate form.
2. Are there any documents needed to accompany the upgrade form?
3. Since we are trying to enroll in the Spring and get into ROTC in the fall do we have to wait six months to submit the paperwork.

1. No, it's not that easy. You can apply to have it upgraded, but the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) only upgrades a discharge if "there is a proven error, injustice, or inequity in the discharge".

You can look at discharge requests online (with personal info redacted) at http://boards.law.af.mil/ARMY_DRB.htm. In CY2011, there were 12 cases reviewed. Only two were approved, and those were procedural errors.

2. Include anything you think would help. If you can prove there WAS error, injustice, etc. he'll stand a better chance of having it upgraded.

3. No. You can apply any time, but there's no telling how long the backlog is and how long it will take for them to review the case.

Also, I second what andrearhoads said about the DD785. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the information.
The did not give him an RE code on his 214. They put N/A in the box. I wondered if they treated cadets differently than enlisted. Do you have any idea why they left it blank?

Your DS was never an enlisted, so RE code being NA make sense. Again, I am no expert, but it looks like doesn't to worry about RE code as it is NA.
 
Thanks for your help. I have gone through over 100 records and did a search through all the rest as well as the other academies looking for a cadet who was separated or resigned and desired to get an upgrade to continue their quest of being an army officer. Am I missing something here? I can't believe that none of the resigned or separated cadet who were given General Discharges did not want to continue to pursue a position in the army. I have wondered if the board does something different with the cadets since they are not enlisted personnel. Does anyone know???
 
I would suggest you post your question on the ROTC forums. There are 2 posters that are instructors at traditional colleges. They maybe the best people to answer your question. You may want to headline as Marist, Clarkson or any ROO please help.

Marist College ROTC
Clarkson Army

IMPO it maybe that because the AROTC system does not guarantee AD for all AROTC cadets, that few have decided to go down this path.
 
Your DS was never an enlisted, so RE code being NA make sense. Again, I am no expert, but it looks like doesn't to worry about RE code as it is NA.

I am not sure about that. This is from a Navy site, but I am thinking the idea would be similar with Army:

An Entry Level Separation would normally be given to an individual who failed to complete an initial period of 180 days of active service; some members may receive an "N/A" where the re-code would normally reside. A N/A re-code would require a COMNAVCRUITCOM waiver for enlistment.

http://www.navycs.com/military-re-codes.html

Stealth_81
 
My DS was discharged from an Academy earlier this year. He received an Honorable Discharge and will be participating in Army ROTC this fall at a University on the East Coast. It is very important, maybe even critical, that you have his DD785 as well as his DD214 prior to speaking with ROTC at a college/university. The 785 is the "report card" that alerts military officers about the future commissioning status of your DS. A couple that I know, he is a Major serving in Africa, she is a captain/recruiting officer at a major university...their son received a General Discharge from the Marines with a 4 ranking on his DD785. It took them 18 months to get this sorted out and the former Marine finally received a 3 ranking and an Honorable Discharge. You need to get all your paperwork together, talk to your DS and legal at WP, and finalize what his future commissioning status may be. Many say that getting into an Academy and staying there is a "roller coaster of a ride." Well, leaving an Academy and starting a new journey (toward commissioning) is also one crazy ride too...Good luck...PM me if you need further details.
 
Reading through this posting and hope someones info may be of help.

My son was just recently disenrolled from a NROTC program due to academic probation and then missing a PT during the probation. Not making excuses for him. Poor judgement and loss of focus I guess. Top of PT class, excellent leadership skills; No major infractions or legal issues whatsoever. Pretty benign actually. But, all that aside, it is what it is and we sit heavy hearted.

He really wants to serve his country and has until end of this week to get his notification in a for an appeal.

What advice can anyone give regarding disenrollments and appeals?
He definitely would love to serve our country, has stated he doesn't need the status of Officer Candidate, but doesn't want to miss out on the chance to enlist and pay back his scholarship that way. He has been told he is able to enlist and pay it back, but we're not sure what to do in order to make that happen. With all the budget cuts happening, I think this is going to be a domino effect.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
 
Reading through this posting and hope someones info may be of help.

My son was just recently disenrolled from a NROTC program due to academic probation and then missing a PT during the probation. Not making excuses for him. Poor judgement and loss of focus I guess. Top of PT class, excellent leadership skills; No major infractions or legal issues whatsoever. Pretty benign actually. But, all that aside, it is what it is and we sit heavy hearted.

He really wants to serve his country and has until end of this week to get his notification in a for an appeal.

What advice can anyone give regarding disenrollments and appeals?
He definitely would love to serve our country, has stated he doesn't need the status of Officer Candidate, but doesn't want to miss out on the chance to enlist and pay back his scholarship that way. He has been told he is able to enlist and pay it back, but we're not sure what to do in order to make that happen. With all the budget cuts happening, I think this is going to be a domino effect.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

You might want to check out he ROTC forum on this board. There is a thread that talks about NROTC disenrollements.

I would stay in contact with them regarding the enlistment option, there are others that have been dissenrolled , and none have been able to enlist, all have had to pay back.
 
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