What Veterans and Service Members Need to Know About Military Discharge Upgrades

The discharge review boards exist for all branches of the military and have the power to correct inequities or improprieties in military service records. This can mean upgrading a discharge from other-than-honorable to general under honorable conditions and can result in the restoration of some veterans' benefits administered by the VA. An upgrade from general to honorable would restore a service member's access to Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, one of the most popular and valuable benefits offered to veterans.

Besides upgrading a military discharge classification, the boards have the power to change a service member's reentry code, correct the narrative reason for separation, and even change the separation authority. This could result in a service member becoming eligible to reenlist in the military or avoiding having to explain why their DD-214 lists things like "drug abuse" or "serious misconduct" under the narrative for separation.

A service member has the right to submit a request to the discharge review board if they apply within 15 years of their separation from service. They are required to complete a DD Form 293, and I highly recommend that a comprehensive petition be submitted along with the completed form in order to increase the chances of the board granting relief.