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Q699: In 1968 I was drafted in the Army. In 1969 I was dishonorably discharged from the Army for an alleged personality disorder (paranoid personality disorder) and I was deemed unfit for duty. At the time I really didn’t care how I was characterized by the Army, I was just glad to get out. Fast forward to today, now I am angry, really angry how I was labeled by the Army. I’ve had a very successful career as an electrical engineer, and I have reared a good family. I am not crazy or psychologically disturbed. I am actively working with the Army to change my discharge status. In the meantime, I’d like to know if I can get some kind of compensation from the military or VA for wrongful termination from the Army?
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A1: Your first step would be to request an upgrade to your discharge.
(Click here). Once you have the discharge upgraded to Honorable or General under Honorable Conditions, you can apply for benefits. In order to have a successful compensation benefit, you must have three things. 1. An accident, illness or injury which occurred while in service. 2. A current disability which is related to # 1. 3. A Nexus which ties them together. If you can document these three things, you have a good chance at the claim. (RJ) 4/21/21
A2: A Dishonorable Discharge is reserved for truly reprehensible crimes such as murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, and desertion. The discharge would be given as a result of a trial by Courts Martial. If that is not the case, then I would complete and submit a DD 293 Application for Review of Discharge and submit it to the Army for a review of your discharge. When someone receives a less than honorable discharge, you can still submit an application for disability compensation to the VA and they will do a "Character of Discharge" determination. Some veterans receive compensation because it was determined that they had some "honorable" service. (DS) 4/21/21
A3: Request a mental health evaluation. (TP) 4/21/21