Lying on DoDMERB

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Serve1

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I was appointed awhile ago, and realized that I need to be honest if I wanted to become an officer.

I said on DoDMERB that I did not use drugs. However, I've used marijuana four times before. I have e-mailed and sent a letter to my counselor.

What happens now? Where do I stand?

I know that I lied, however, I realized I need to be completely honest because I realized that I made a crucial mistake.

Is my appointment going to vanish?
 
This is very admirable, and it will be recognised. Though, I do not recommend that you pull something like this again. Sometimes you have to tell your story and stick with it. Just don't lie again, and you'll be fine. They will probably send you a series of eight questions to fill out for a character review. I had to do this for my possession charge from seven years ago, it won't be that big of a deal. DoDMERB may even overlook it.
 
I'll not patronize you. You know you've messed up, twice. First using illegal drugs and 2nd lying about it. Thus you've put your future in some jeopardy. There is nothing admirable beyond recognizing your need to be truthful.

Like all of us, you are in need of forgiveness, mercy, grace. None of which can or will come from anyone(s) here. Were I you, my need would be to find my knees.

Thank you for sharing a tough story and your obvious concern and pain. It will help some, and here's hoping that your story ends with that gift of unmerited forgiveness for some poor choices. Keep us posted.
 
I was appointed awhile ago, and realized that I need to be honest if I wanted to become an officer.

I said on DoDMERB that I did not use drugs. However, I've used marijuana four times before. I have e-mailed and sent a letter to my counselor.

What happens now? Where do I stand?

I know that I lied, however, I realized I need to be completely honest because I realized that I made a crucial mistake.

Is my appointment going to vanish?

+1 to WhistlePig. You may or may not lose the appointment. I hope your experience is similar to lukepeoples'. The thing is, the lie in the military about an offense is generally considered worse than the original offence. If you are fortunate and do not lose your appointment then keep to the straight and narrow in the future. You should also know that you'll need a security clearance before attending the academy. You'll also need additional security clearances throughout your career. If you have some "sin" in your past that you haven't revealed they WILL find out. I just pass that along as a future aid in keeping you on the straight and narrow.
 
+1 to WhistlePig. You may or may not lose the appointment.
It's OK if you're from WA,CO or maybe just say you didn't inhale:)
Kidding aside, trying is different from habitual use. That's what my DS's ALO told us.
Hope that the urine tests don't show any amount of THC. Otherwise, it'd be tough to explain.
 
Your record will likely go before the Character Board.

Being honest with you, the fact you have used marijuana 4 times is not as great as if you'd only tried it once. I suspect they will want to know why you kept using it. (You do NOT need to tell us on this forum but you need to consider the answer you'll give to the Board.)

The other concern is whether you are likely to use it again. As you probably know, as a mid or officer, use of drugs is often an automatic walk out the door.

The above said, not everyone who enters USNA is pure as wind-driven snow. USNA recognizes that some kids make mistakes. The key will be whether/how you learned from your experience and whether USNA thinks you're likely to make the same mistake again.

I do applaud you for being honest. No matter how this turns out, you did the right thing. Living with a lie is miserable.
 
You will go before the Board as 1985 says. I know one who got by. Make the best case possible and pray for the best result.
 
If it was really bugging you that much to be hiding a lie, then to me that is a good sign. Should have never happened in the first place, but making a mistake and learning a lifelong lesson at 17 is a great thing. Nobody here is perfect and I hope USNA recognizes that you must have a very strong character if you were willing to put your appointment at risk in order to set the record straight.
 
Really??

This is very admirable, and it will be recognised. Though, I do not recommend that you pull something like this again. Sometimes you have to tell your story and stick with it. Just don't lie again, and you'll be fine. They will probably send you a series of eight questions to fill out for a character review. I had to do this for my possession charge from seven years ago, it won't be that big of a deal. DoDMERB may even overlook it.

Am I the only one that has a problem with this? Admirable? Won't be that big of a deal? I' m sorry, I do understand that kids make mistakes, but there are consequences to those mistakes, and sometimes severe consequences like losing an appointment to a service academy. What about all of the deserving candidates that have not given in to the pressure to smoke pot or drink alcohol? And those who have been completely honest throughout their admissions and DoDMERB process?
 
Am I the only one that has a problem with this? Admirable? Won't be that big of a deal? I' m sorry, I do understand that kids make mistakes, but there are consequences to those mistakes, and sometimes severe consequences like losing an appointment to a service academy. What about all of the deserving candidates that have not given in to the pressure to smoke pot or drink alcohol? And those who have been completely honest throughout their admissions and DoDMERB process?

Brave, I understand that there is a question of character here, but through my experience, I don't think that defining a person based on their past is very professional. I know a lot of chiefs, first class petty officers and even officers that have had moments of poor judgement, but at this age, I believe that what he is doing to correct his mistakes is admirable. Also I was stating that the character board will be nothing to worry about as long as he explains his situation and proves he has learned from it. At fourteen I was caught up making a poor decision and learned from the mistake and am now a very qualified enlisted candidate for the Academy. Almost a decade later. I was merely providing insight from my experience.
 
Okay, so there is a "character board" that you get to present to after you lie to get an appointment? Then all is well and good because now you are showing great "character". Would he have received the very early appointment if he was honest to begin with? Makes me wonder.....
 
That is what the character review board is for. They will evaluate his character and make a decision based on what information they are able gather. I am in no way condoning behaviour like this. It is just understandable for young men to make mistakes. I am not a part of the admissions board and I am not saying he will keep his appointment, but there are bigger and definitely worse things that could have been done. I am taking an objective approach to his situation and providing my insight. As far as the Navy is concerned (at least for enlisted), from what I have been told by detailers based on security clearance, as long as the law was never involved, it will be a lot less detrimental in the long run.
 
Not to pick a side, but I'm with you bravemom62.

Yes, we all MAKE mistakes. Sadly they are not in the past. We all need grace, mercy, forgiveness, and 2nd chances. And indeed the OP might well get that unmerited gift. Or he may get what is merited, which would be no cause for celebration by anyone. Here's to grace and mercy ... and I'd be hard asking the only One who can give it.

As for lukes point " I don't think that defining a person based on their past is very professional." Well, as my grandmother would say, "HOGWASH!" In fact that is precisely the virtual entire measure of prospective Mids! What they have ... and have not ... done in the past. The fundamental assumption is simple and clear ... What people have done, how they have behaved, how have they led and performed ... in the PAST ... as measured by classes, recommendations, tests, CRTs, ECs, leadership, and on and on ... when joined together into a WHOLE PERSON score ... is the best predictor of FUTURE BEHAVIOR. And virtually all "professionals" live and die by that premise. And it's no difference for people on the job.

This discussion serves to illuminate the mess of our culture. AND the mess in recent years of the Honor Concept at USNA. There is a problem when "honor" is 90% ... or 75% ... or 50% ... or it was only 4 times ... or only failing to tell the truth in my BGO interview ... or on my app ... or since then.

Now, there is one more critical point that hasn't been offered here. And it is simply this. Presumably there are another 1,000 or so fully qualified candidates as determined by USNA who have not done that which if done at USNA, gets an immediate separation. Not once. Not 4 times. And then denied it all when given the chance to come clean just a couple of months ago. And at least one of those other fully worthy candidates will NOT be offered an appointment in the event that another who has is forgiven. I'm betting he'll be wondering "why not?"

Let me repeat. I'm fine with grace and mercy for the guilty party. I'm better with grace and mercy for he who played by the rules and didn't lie about it when given multiple opportunities.

And I'm not taking sides beyond calling out "baloney" when I believe I've seen it.
 
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I completely agree with you Whistle. I must admit that I am fairly liberal in my opinions and only bring up that these situations are on a case by case basis. The only thing I can say is that I hope OP has learned his lesson, and would really like to see what his BGO and DoDMERB says in response.
 
Yes. I do understand that I lied, but more important, I lied to my country.

I pleaded for re-examination of my status and wrote a thorough letter to my RC, to which I haven't gotten a response.

I do understand that I may lose my appointment, I will accept that fact because of the decision I have made. I have bettered myself as a person since my incident, and I hope that comes through.
 
HN Peoples, thanks for taking the time to share your perspective. As another service member, I agree that it took some guts for the young man to correct the record, even if it may cost him his appointment. Obviously we all agree that the best course of action would have been (1) never to have tried marijuana in the first place; and (2) not to have falsely responded on the DODMERB forms. Given that this young person did what young people often do -- made a couple bad judgments -- he did the best he could: he admitted wrongdoing despite no functional chance at all that his wrongdoing could have been exposed. That takes moral courage, and that is a quality worth having, whenever it manifests itself. Plenty of mids or serving officers would not do the same, given the potential cost.

If you want to talk from the perspective of someone currently serving in the armed forces, if I know one of my Marines or a fellow officer will turn himself in if he's made a mistake or engaged in wrongdoing, I have more trust that, in the end, the right thing will get done. If you want to get biblical, think the Prodigal Son -- it is a good thing when somebody sees the error of their ways and acts upon it.

This will be taken seriously, and may well result in the appointment being revoked. And I would be the first one to tell the poster that he had only himself to blame if that comes to pass, for making two very bad decisions. But he'd still have my respect for taking a hit that would have gone unnoticed and unchallenged had he not voluntarily come forward.

People can disagree -- moral issues and reactions to transgressions produces strongly personal reactions -- but I'll put my faith in the collective wisdom of the character review board to make the right call; they are serious people working hard to do right by the Fleet and the Corps in terms of selecting future officers of character.
 
To play devil's advocate, Serve, on one hand you have the majority of teens who have experimented with marijuana, and the minority who will admit to it. and on the other hand you have the Uniform Code of Military Justice, of which states that the use of any narcotic, unlicensed prescription drugs, or illicit materials for the use of recreation outside federal law is grounds for immediate discharge.
 
People can disagree -- moral issues and reactions to transgressions produces strongly personal reactions -- but I'll put my faith in the collective wisdom of the character review board to make the right call; they are serious people working hard to do right by the Fleet and the Corps in terms of selecting future officers of character.
Thank you for your wisdom.
To play devil's advocate, Serve, on one hand you have the majority of teens who have experimented with marijuana, and the minority who will admit to it. and on the other hand you have the Uniform Code of Military Justice, of which states that the use of any narcotic, unlicensed prescription drugs, or illicit materials for the use of recreation outside federal law is grounds for immediate discharge.
I understand. I know that there are cadets/midshipmans who have experimented before and never admitted it. I don't want to be that kind of person. I wanted to give my life up for this country and step number one was to set things straight.
 
To play devil's advocate, Serve, on one hand you have the majority of teens who have experimented with marijuana, and the minority who will admit to it. and on the other hand you have the Uniform Code of Military Justice, of which states that the use of any narcotic, unlicensed prescription drugs, or illicit materials for the use of recreation outside federal law is grounds for immediate discharge.

No better way to put it my friend.:thumb:
 
Thank you for your wisdom.

I understand. I know that there are cadets/midshipmans who have experimented before and never admitted it. I don't want to be that kind of person. I wanted to give my life up for this country and step number one was to set things straight.

Good luck, Serve1, I think you made a tough but brave decision and I'm sure you'll accomplish good things wherever your path leads you. If that path happens to be USNA, do your best to be worthy of the opportunity (as I think you would, based on your words here). If you get a chance, let us know how it turns out, either with a post or a Private Message (PM).
 
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