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Can You Get Va Disability With A General Discharge

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Can You Buy A Gun With A General Discharge

Military Discharge Status, Upgrades, and VA Benefits

This is an ironclad regulation: Federal law makes it a crime for anyone who has been dishonorably discharged from the military to possess or receive firearms or ammunition if the gun or ammo was transported across a state line at any time. (That last part is necessary for a federal crime to have been committed

Regulatory Bars To Benefits

In addition to the statutory bars, there are also regulatory bars found under 38 CFR § 3.12. Individuals character of discharge is considered to have been issued under dishonorable conditions if they were released under any of the following circumstances:

  • Acceptance of an undesirable discharge to escape trial by general court-martial
  • Mutiny or spying
  • An offense involving moral turpitude
  • Willful and persistent misconduct, or
  • Homosexual acts involving aggravating circumstances or factors affecting the performance of duty (e.g., child molestation, homosexual prostitution, homosexual acts or conduct accompanied by coercion or assault, and homosexual acts or conduct when a service member has taken advantage of his or her superior rank, grade, or status

What If I Have More Than One Period Of Service

If you had two or more periods of service, and one period ended and a day or two later you reenlisted, you may be eligible. If you received “good paper” for the first period of service, and “bad paper” for the second, you may be eligible for disability compensation and health care for any disabilities that occurred or were aggravated during your “good” period of service. If you were injured during the “bad” period of service, you are out of luck unless the VA issues you a good character of service determination.

There is another exception. If, before the end a period of service, the military issues a conditional discharge to allow you to reenlist, you may remain eligible for benefits. Even if you got “bad paper” when you ultimately got discharged, if your period of service preceding reenlistment would have entitled you to an honorable discharge, then you will be eligible for compensation and health care. However, you will only receive benefits for any disabilities caused or worsened during the “good” period of service. You will not get benefits for any injuries incurred after the reenlistment which ended in bad paper unless the VA issues you a positive character of service determination.

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How Do You Get A General Discharge

Nonjudicial punishment most often results in a general discharge, under honorable conditions.

This means that if a service member does something that warrants punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice but does not break a civilian law.

Examples of things punishable under the UCMJ include:

  • Failure to maintain physical standards
  • Failure to meet professional qualification requirements, and
  • Any other failure to meet a military standard.

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Benefits Of A General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions

How Can I Get VA Disability Benefits If My Discharge Is ...

Upon separation from military service, each person receives a document identifying the type of service rendered as being honorable, general or dishonorable. About 70 million people of the population of the United States are eligible for veterans benefits because they are either veterans or family members and survivors. These veterans have honorable discharges or a general discharge under honorable conditions.

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How Do I File For A Claim Before My Medical Discharge From The Military

If you have an illness or injury that you believe was caused or made worse by your active-duty service, you can file a Pre-Charge Claim for disability benefits 180 to 90 days before leaving the military. This may help speed up the claim decision process so you can get your benefits sooner. Find out how to file a claim through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge program. This site will also tell you what to do if you have less than 90 days left on active duty.

What Are The Most Common Service Connected Disabilities

1 Tinnitus. Many people call tinnitus ringing in the ears when they dont know the scientific name . 2 Hearing loss. Many military jobs and roles put you in the line of fire to experience hearing loss. 3 Lumbar or Lower Back. 4 Sciatica. 5 Knee Issues. 6 Migraines, tension headaches. 7 Mental health.

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Board Of Corrections For Military Records

The Board of Correction for Military Records can do the following:

  • Review a decision made by the DRB and change it.
  • Upgrade discharges, including Bad Conduct Discharges or Dishonorable Discharges resulting from General Courts-Martial.
  • Change discharges to or from medical/disability retirement to allow a veteran to receive a VA pension.

Visit the Board of Corrections for Military Records page at the National Archives to locate the BCMR for your branch of service.

Insanity As An Exception

Can Military Discharge Status Affect Eligibility for VA Disability Benefits?

Insanity is another exception to VA rules and regulations. If the VA establishes that the Veteran was insane at the time of the offense leading to the discharge, then the Veteran is not barred from benefits. The insanity does not have to be a cause of the misconduct. It is worth noting that the VAs definition of insanity is broader than what is used in the criminal defense context.

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Dont Delay Getting Help With A Veterans Disability Claim

Veterans disability benefits can have a significant impact on your future. If you think you may qualify for such benefits, or if you have questions about your eligibility for veterans disability benefits, we encourage you to contact an experienced disability lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your case and to make sure your rights are protected. Please call us today or reach out to us via this website for additional information.

How To Get A Character Of Discharge Review From The Va

The first thing to know is that the VA has probably not done a Character of Discharge decision for you. It doesnât happen automatically. You have to ask for it by applying for a benefit. If you have never applied for a benefit, the VA will assume that you are not eligible.

But if you get a successful Character of Discharge review after applying for one benefit, you will be eligible for other benefits also . Your discharge will not stand in the way of you getting VA benefits ever again.

Here are five steps you can take to maximize your chances of getting a successful Character of Discharge decision.

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What Is A Medical Separation

A medical separation is a type of military discharge that stems from a soldier, sailor, or Marine having a physical or mental condition that affects their ability to serve.

This discharge is determined via the 2 medical review boards: Medical Evaluation Board and Physical Evaluation Board .

Typically, a Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airmen will present themselves to the board seeking a medical separation.

With that said, the commanding officer of the persons unit can also initiate this process without the input of the person serving.

What Are The Consequences Of An Entry

Can I Get VA Benefits With an Other Than Honorable ...

As mentioned earlier, an entry-level separation is really a neutral type of discharge.

Its nowhere near the severity of a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, but its also not even close to an honorable or general discharge.

Probably the biggest consequence of getting an entry-level separation is future employment.

While it isnt likely to have a negative impact on future employment opportunities, some potential employers may look at this type of discharge in a negative light.

For example, they may think that, because you couldnt conform to military procedures or life, that you may not conform to their business.

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What Is A Military Medical Discharge

If you become sick or are injured to the point where military duty is no longer possible, you may be given a medical discharge. This type of discharge is based on a medical evaluation of your condition and can be a lengthy process.

While most military medical discharges are due to physical injuries, mental health concerns also can result in a medical discharge. You can receive a medical discharge for depression or post-traumatic stress disorder .

Whether youre applying for a medical discharge or have developed medical issues after youve separated from the military, you can apply for VA compensation for service-connected medical issues. Conditions that resulted in a medical discharge are often even easier to service-connect because the medical evidence will be strong .

What Type Of Discharge Do I Need To Qualify For Veterans Benefits

The militarys has 5 main classifications of discharge:

  • Honorable discharge
  • Discharge under honorable conditions or a general discharge
  • Discharge under other than honorable conditions or undesirable discharge
  • Bad conduct discharge
  • Dishonorable discharge or dismissal

In order to be eligible to receive benefits from the VA, your discharge must be other than dishonorable. If you have an honorable discharge, a discharge under honorable conditions or a general discharge then you will most likely qualify. If you have any other type of discharge it is unlikely, but not impossible that you will qualify. The only discharge that fully bars you from getting benefits is a dishonorable discharge. Many Veterans file an application to have their discharge upgraded prior to filing for VA benefits. Although our office does not handle military discharge upgrade cases, contact us and we will be happy to provide you with a referral to a firm that may be able to assist you.

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Can You Get A Federal Job With A General Discharge

When applying for a Federal civil service job with a General Discharge, Under Honorable Conditions, a qualified individual with a passing score can receive a hiring preference. The application is a points-based system, so individuals with this discharge type who qualify can have up to 10 points added to their scores.

Can I Get Veterans Disability Benefits If I Was Dishonorably Discharged

Should I Take Disability Student Loan Discharge?

Veterans disability benefits are generally only available to veterans who were discharged under other than dishonorable conditions. In other words, you may be eligible for veterans disability benefits if you received an honorable discharge or a general discharge from the military, but you are not eligible if you received a dishonorable discharge.

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Can General Under Honorable Conditions Upgrade

Can general under honorable conditions upgrade? General Under Honorable: You are eligible for VA health care & disability benefits. Other Than Honorable: You will need to ask for a discharge upgrade or Character of Service determination in order to be eligible for health care & disability benefits.

Can a general under honorable conditions discharge be upgraded? If you have a general courts-martial discharge or want to a change your discharge to or from medical retirement or medical discharge, you will have to apply to the Board for Correction of Military Records. DRBs do not have authority to make these sorts of changes.

What benefits do I get with a general under honorable conditions? General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions

Veterans who receive general discharges under honorable conditions are entitled to all VA benefits, with the exception of GI Bill education benefits.

Is a general under honorable conditions discharge good? A general discharge under honorable conditions means that your service was satisfactory, but did not deserve the highest level of discharge for performance and conduct. Many veterans with this type of discharge may have engaged in minor misconduct.

Exceptions To Dishonorable Discharge Va Benefits

The strongest exception regarding benefits is when the Veteran has more than one period of duty. For example, if the Veteran has a good period of service for VA compensation purposes and a bad period of service, then any disabilities that arose during the good period of service are eligible for compensation.

As for exceptions to the willful misconduct and moral turpitude regulation, minor offenses are not considered willful misconduct if the Veterans service was otherwise honest, faithful, and meritorious. Mere technical violation of police regulation or ordinances does not constitute willful misconduct. Also, VA regulations state that moral turpitude generally includes a felony conviction. If the Veterans service is generally good, with no felony convictions, he or she may be entitled to benefits. Therefore, a Veteran may still be eligible for VA benefits.

Entry level separation administrative discharges does not prohibit a Veteran from receiving benefits. However, a voided enlistment or induction may be a bar to benefits. An exception to this is termination of active duty service solely on a persons misrepresentation of their age.

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General Discharge Vs Honorable Discharge

An honorable discharge is the highest level of discharge a service member can receive. It means the expected duties were well-performed, and the member was faithful to their assigned duties.

A general discharge is considered an administrative discharge.

Each branch of the military has different administrative reasons for this particular discharge.

When a service member receives their separation paperwork, the reasons are typically specific and stated on the paperwork.

Also, a service members DD Form 214 will report the discharge with the reasons.

Lastly, there are a couple of different versions of this discharge, including a General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions and a General Discharge Other than Honorable Conditions.

What Are The Benefits Of A General Discharge

Can I Get VA Benefits With an Other Than Honorable ...

The conditions under which the discharge was given is included on the service members DD-214, the document which outlines the specifics of their separation from military service.

It is possible that a general discharge can be upgraded, provided that it goes through a formal appeal process and is approved for the upgrade.

This includes the ability for family members to change the classification posthumously.

A general discharge allows the service member to use the majority of veterans programs.

These include:

  • VA home loan

However, there are some downsides to a general discharge.

The recipient may not be eligible from future military service depending on the specifics laid out in their DD-214.

The GI Bill education benefit is the only absolute benefit not awarded to service members with a general discharge. This benefit is reserved for those with an honorable discharge.

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How Do You Get A Medical Separation

There are a wide variety of conditions that can cause a medical separation. They include :

  • A physical injury that prevents the servicemember from performing his or her duties.
  • A mental condition that prevents the servicemember from performing his or her duties.

Factors that determine whether or not youll receive a medical separation include the ability to perform your job, stability of the disabling condition, years of active service , and rating percentage.

The review boards mentioned above determine all of this.

Some Veterans Are Able To Access Va Benefits Immediately People With Honorable And General Discharges Are Typically Able To Access Va Benefits Without A Problem If You Have A Different Discharge Characterization Other Than Honorable Undesirable Or Bad Conduct Then It Will Be Harder But It Might Be Possible

This guide will show you how.

There is a lot of bad information about this topic. You may have heard from your chain of command, from other veterans, or even from VA employees, that your discharge makes you ineligible for VA benefits. You may have been told that the only way to get eligibility for VA services is to get a discharge upgrade from the military. For most people, this just isnât true.

The truth is that many people with âbad paperâ might be able to receive most VA benefits, even without a discharge upgrade. The VA is allowed to grant eligibility to most people in this situation, for all benefits except the GI Bill. This happens if the VA looks at your overall service and decides that it wasnât âunder dishonorable conditions.â This is called a Character of Discharge review. This doesnât change your discharge , it just changes how the VA treats you. But most people donât ever receive a Character of Discharge review because they donât ask the right way.

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Can I Get A Va Loan With A General Discharge

In most cases, veterans with a General discharge automatically meet the discharge requirements for a VA loan.

There are other discharge scenarios where veterans may be able to move forward right away with documenting their eligibility for a VA loan.

Generally, veterans who served at least 90 consecutive days are eligible if they were discharged for one of the following reasons:

  • Discharged for hardship
  • Condition interfered with duty
  • Compensable service-connected disability

Veterans who served fewer than 90 days but were discharged for a service-connected disability can also be eligible for a VA loan.

How To Apply For Va Disability Compensation

Can I get a VA loan with a general discharge?

For the fastest service you should apply online through the VA.GOV website, you should submit supporting documents with your claim for benefits. You should send the VA copies of medical evidence , your discharge paperwork, and anything else you may think is necessary. Remember, you can never provide the VA too much information!

In certain circumstances you can apply for benefits before being discharged from the military, please visit our Pre-Discharge Program for Disability Compensation page for details.

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Acceptable Discharge Scenarios For Va Loans

Eligibility for the VA home loan benefit can depend on when you served, the nature of your service , the reason for your separation and more.

Generally, you may be eligible for VA loan benefits if you’ve served:

  • At least 90 consecutive days on active duty during wartime
  • At least 181 consecutive days on active duty during peacetime
  • Six years in the National Guard or Reserves

No matter if you were regular military or in the Guard or Reserves, a key component of eligibility will be the nature of your discharge.

Generally, three types of discharges may be automatically acceptable to the VA when it comes to evaluating home loan eligibility: Honorable , Under Honorable Conditions and General .

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