Why is it that Officers cannot receive Dishonorable Discharge or Bad Conduct Discharges? Instead they get a dismissal notice, is that fair?

2016-02-05T16:19:02-05:00

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 5 at 2016 4:29 PM

2016-02-05T16:29:51-05:00

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.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Feb 5 at 2016 4:35 PM

2016-02-05T16:35:19-05:00

No it is not fair.

Response by CPT Mark Gonzalez made Feb 5 at 2016 5:07 PM

2016-02-05T17:07:28-05:00

This is only a question if convicted at court martial and there is more important label at that point "a felon".

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Feb 5 at 2016 6:24 PM

2016-02-05T18:24:55-05:00

CPO Private RallyPoint Member 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.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 2:06 PM

2016-03-01T14:06:13-05:00

Dismissals carry similar weght as BCDs or DD. Just symantics really. Both will screw up the rest of your life.

Response by MAJ John Douglas made Jul 29 at 2018 3:38 AM

2018-07-29T03:38:05-04:00

Yes, its fair. There are a lot of differences in how officers and enlisted are treated, this is just another example. Dismissal is the same as a dishonorable discharge. It means no benefits, nothing.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2019 7:40 AM

2019-01-08T07:40:48-05:00

It's because officers are literally appointed by the president. It's one of the hold-ups in announcing promotions every year...the list goes through the SECDEF for approval before it is made public.
Also...your poll options don't seem like they make sense.