Has anyone ever managed to get a change in their military records and if so how long did it take?

Question

This is a question for those who have tried to get their military records changed. This includes a change in RE codes, reasons for discharge and anything else that relates to this issue. Has anyone ever received a change in records, if so how long did it take? Also, was there a lot of red tape involved? From my understanding it is highly unlikely to get a change in records. I have also heard from my findings so far, that the whole system is a scam and a waste of tax payer money. Was legal help ever used and did it work? Has anyone ever went to see the board in Washington DC? A last question, what has life been like for people who received an entry level separation from the military? Once again this is a question for those people who have tried to get a change in military records and how long it took along with what they thought of the whole process. All response from those who have been involved with this issue are welcome to respond.

Answer 1

I can say that I've never been asked for a DD-214 except when applying for federal jobs, and I've been laid off in corporate collapses four times and sent out hundreds of resume's and lots of applications.

Upon separation, when the military's your only reference, a less than honorable discharge might make things more difficult in job hunting, but later it would likely have no bearing on most private industry jobs.

Answer 2

I've had no personal experience with this since I am still on active duty, however; I would assume contacting your nearest VA would answer some, if not all of these questions.

Answer 3

I do know of a young man that enlisted into the Army about 4 years ago that had been discharged from the USMC with an RE-4.  He was in boot camp and wanted to come back home and faked an ankle problem and he was kicked out.  Years later he came to the Army and was told that his DD214 needed to be changed.  He went to the local VA office and filled the proper paperwork.  Of course it didn't happened overnight but he was persistent and sent many letters to the Head of the Department of the Navy.  It took him about 1.5 years but it finally came and now he is serving in the Army for over 4 years and have a blast and doing exactly what he wants.

Check into it what have you got to loose?  Good luck