How to Upgrade Your Discharge Characterization

 

Steps to Upgrade Discharge Characterization

   

 Good news! You may not have to actually do all this if the AMERICANS ACT, Senate Bill 4172 passes. Senator Ted Cruz is trying to get all military members unjustly discharged for saying no to the COVID shot automatically upgraded in their discharge status. And possible compensation/reinstatement! There is also a legal case with Dale Saran that was filed February 2023 to do the same. The fight is happening! 

But, we may not want to wait on the government...we know how long that takes. So, for those of us who got generally discharged, which is the case for most of us Involuntary Vets, here is a quick-step guide to how to get that characterization you deserve. I was confused about this process at first and it looked long and lengthy, but with the help of a few awesome orgs, I got there. 

First, you have to know that a General Discharge characterization UNDER HONORABLE CONDITIONS will not keep you from getting medical benefits. I was able to get disability and service-connected even with my status. 

    1. You have to decide if you will be going through this process on your own, or through a VSO (Veteran Service Officer), or through a legal organization such as PERK. 

    2. Go on VA.gov and find DISCHARGE UPGRADE and you can answer questions to get your specific steps. Once I answered the questions, I was able to have a step-by-step guide to applying (it was a lot of steps, just to warn you). 

    3. PAPERWORK...we vets are familiar with this. Endless paperwork, waiting on one response to make the next step, etc. Well, it's gotta be done. Here is the paperwork you should collect:

• DOD Form 293
• All your military personnel records
• Buddy Statements to support your character
• List achievements and Letters of Recommendation from employers 

    4. After that, you will then mail it to your respective branch office location. It will be sent to a Discharge Review Board. The DRB is a panel of commissioned officers, or a combination of senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and officers. 

That's it! Yeah, that's a lot jajajaja. At this time, there is no online method for submission. Response times vary, but based on what I saw, expect to wait as long as 18 months!