Dishonorable discharge from the military... is that worse than being fired from a civilian job?

Question

Dishonorable discharge from the military... is that worse than being fired from a civilian job?

Answer 1

There are many types of discharges for those who "can't hack it" or commit an extreme offense.  Most qualify under an "Other than honorable discharge" category.  Then there are "Bad conduct discharges" and the BIG DADDY of them all is a DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE.  Basicly what you did was so bad they want it to haunt you for the rest of your life.  So yeah a civilian job is water under the bridge, while a Dishonorable Discharge is like a tsunami that swallows the bridge and your hopes of obtaining a good job.  Face it americans hate people who dishonor those who sacrifice so much.

Answer 2

Only a very rich person, (maybe) can survive one of those.

Walt Disney did.

And it will shadow his name, for eternity.

Walt Disney and his dishonorable discharge from the military.

He turned and ran, when under fire. (During WWI)

He hung the discharge (up-side down) in his office.

Answer 3

It tends to follow you around and affect your chances of getting government jobs.

Answer 4

I'd say so, if you get fired from a job it's bad but you can shake it off and move on. Dishonourably discharged from the military stays with you forever that's like being fired by your country.

Answer 5

This type of discharge is universally regarded as shameful, and the social stigma attached to it makes it very difficult to obtain gainful post-service employment. Additionally, many states prohibit ownership of firearms from those who have been discharged dishonorably, as does Federal law.

I would rather be fired from a hundred jobs then get a dishonorable discharge honestly. Getting a dishonorable discharge is in the same category of bad as have a felony on your record.

Edit: Choice last is wrong however and Walt Disney was not dishonorably discharged, he never actually served in the military at all, but rather as a volunteer ambulance driver

http://www.snopes.com/disney/waltdisn/di...

Answer 6

It depends on what the person did but yes it is you will still be able to get a job you just will not be able to work for the government. Honorable discharge is the best one i think my husband is in the army and that is what he told me.

Answer 7

Much, much worse. If you're fired from a civilian job, you can just leave a blank spot on your next resume or application and get a good cover story. But if you get a Dishonorable Discharge...that'll come up whenever anyone runs a background check on you for anything.

That's a black mark against you for life.

Answer 8

Much would depend upon what the circumstances and what the charge was.

Being discharged from the military would need a more serious reason than the "sack" for a minor misdemeanour from your employment.

Neither of course would enhance your prospects of securing future employment

Answer 9

Yeah, a LOT worse.  A dishonorable discharge can only be imposed as part of the sentence following conviction at a General Court Marital.  So not only were you "fired" but you have a Federal felony conviction as well.  

Remember the "Three F's" -- Federal Felonies are Forever.  It will show up on a background check for the rest of your life; there's no way to have them expunged unless you win an acquittal on appeal.

Answer 10

Yes, it's by far worse than being fired from any civilian job.  It takes a lot to get a Dishonorable Discharge, due to the actions needed to get such a discharge.  It's generally given to a soldier whom has committed a serious  crime.  Much worse than being fired for stealing office supplies from a desk job somewhere.  It follows you around for the rest of your life and obviously looks horrible on a resume or job application.

Answer 11

It is treated like a felony in California.  Dishonorable discharge = no gun ownership.

Answer 12

Yes and no. If you're fired from a regular job it can be just because you're not very good at it or are a bad timekeeper etc. A dishonourable discharge is generally equivalent to gross misconduct, in other words, what you did was pretty bad, maybe stealing or something that brings the firm/service into disrepute, maybe something criminal.

If my interpretation is not 100% accurate, I apologise in advance, but this is my opinion as an employer and that may be what is relevant.

Answer 13

Oh yes.

If you're ex-forces, employers practically wet themselves at interviews. They love it, as they think you're uber-reliable.

If you had a dishonourable discharge, they know that the military has it's own internal discipline, legal and punishment system, so you must have done something pretty d**n bad to get booted out under a black cloud.

It's that word 'dishonourable'...It carries a stigma.

Answer 14

people sometimes don't know that there are 5 types of discharges, only two of which are punitive. most people that get kicked out for popping positive or going UA get a OTH which is one of the non-punitives.

Honorable

General= non-punitive discharge

Other than honorable=non-punitive, you might do some brig time until separation, but your not going to leavenworth.

to receive a BCD or Dishonorable you would have to commit a felony like rape or murder or assault...etc...ect...

Bad conduct=punitive, your getting jail time and your a felon

DisHonorable= punitive, same as above.

Answer 15

Yep. If someone does a full disclosure search, which a h**l of a lot of companies do, that'll come up every time.

Pull a fast one. Find a medical disorder that's really hard to properly diagnose... back pain's a cracker... and work your ticket. Medical discharge is a lot better. If you're the kind of wimp that'll do that, of course.

Do your minimum, slap in your notice. The way most people who want out do it. No civvy employer will question if you state that you wanted to spend more time with your family. That's a plenty good enough reason, because everyone knows how long soldiers and sailors go on deployment for. That's the reason I used, and having been divorced once while I was in the Navy I was bloody determined being away from home was not going to get me divorced twice.