Posted on Feb 5, 2016
Why is it that Officers cannot receive Dishonorable Discharge or Bad Conduct Discharges? Instead they get a dismissal notice, is that fair?
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Posted 9 y ago
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A "Dismissal Notice" is a Punitive Discharge akin to a Dishonorable Discharge.
Keep in mind "all of the above" can still only happen with Courts Martial Procedures (Guilty) so the person receiving them is still classified as a Felon. We are just "calling" it something different.
A lot of this comes down to the historical & traditional differences between Officers and Enlisted. It's not about "fairness." A retired Officer is still an Officer, and still has quite a few of the Powers of a Commissioned Officer. A retired Enlisted, not so much.
Keep in mind "all of the above" can still only happen with Courts Martial Procedures (Guilty) so the person receiving them is still classified as a Felon. We are just "calling" it something different.
A lot of this comes down to the historical & traditional differences between Officers and Enlisted. It's not about "fairness." A retired Officer is still an Officer, and still has quite a few of the Powers of a Commissioned Officer. A retired Enlisted, not so much.
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PO2 Skip Kirkwood
Officers do not "enlist". Therefore they are not "discharged." They are "commissioned" and can be "dismissed." It's not "fair" or unfair, its just different.
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MSG Thomas Currie
What the whole whining nonsense omits is that a dishonorable discharge can only be given as part of a sentence from a General Court Martial.
Enlisted personnel sentenced to confinement are also routinely "reduced to the lowest enlisted grade". Without doing any research I don't know what is done when an officer is sentenced to confinement.
Enlisted personnel sentenced to confinement are also routinely "reduced to the lowest enlisted grade". Without doing any research I don't know what is done when an officer is sentenced to confinement.
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SGT Steven Wade
I done see any felons around here call it what you what actually my discharge didn’t mean squat after I got out.
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CPO (Join to see) As officers are commissioned, they can only be dismissed from the rolls by the Secretary of their respective branch --and usually as a result of a General Courts Martial. Dismissal carries the same weight as a BCD. I suppose its really a matter of semantics.
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This is only a question if convicted at court martial and there is more important label at that point "a felon".
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