Last month, the Pentagon automatically granted an honorable discharge to 800 of the estimated 13,000 veterans who have been pushed out of the military during the 1994-2011 “don’t ask, don’t tell” era with less than honorable discharges. Even 13,000 is probably less. In some cases, if the commander suspects homosexuality but does not have proof, the service members are administratively dismissed or punished preemptively. The Pentagon estimate also does not count veterans who were separated because of their sexual orientation before 1994, when automatic discharge was the official policy.
This Veterans Day, we must reflect on a population of veterans thrown into a process that is still fraught with subjective notions of honor and shame. The moment of reckoning with LGBTQ+ veterans is an opportunity for the Pentagon to rethink its antiquated military discharge system.
Since World War I, the military has tied veterans’ benefits to the characterization of veterans. The most common are “Great”, “public in respectable condition”, “other than respectable” and “dishonorable”. Individual military commanders are given discretion in this distinction, placing the determination of honor or shame in their hands.
Since World War II, 2.36 million veterans has been issued a less than honorable discharge. Each service is different how they dispense these dischargesalso. Although only about 10% of marines and airmen are honorably discharged, about 20% of Army soldiers are.
Even a seemingly mild downgrade – from “honorable” to “general discharge under honorable conditions” – makes a difference. The Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care is automatically available to those who have it honorable and public discharge characterization. Post-9/11 GI Bill benefitsHowever, it is reserved only for those with an honorable discharge. Without it, soldiers can’t afford full tuition and fees at public universities as well as housing and book allowances — sums that can easily reach $100,000.
This is an imperfect practice, and one that has never been uniformly applied. This makes the largest employer in the country – the US military – unique, entitled to benefit from the perception of “honor” in work performance. During and after World War II, for example, around 50,000 service members – who are mostly people of color, women and LGBTQ + – are given a “blue ticket disposal” that makes them ineligible for benefits. More recently, some commanders have used their discretion to push out victims of military sexual trauma and those who suffer post traumatic stress with less than honorable discharges.
I have spoken to dozens of veterans who received other-than-honorable discharges and their families and saw the damage caused firsthand: stymied career prospects, limited access to health care. Not having an “honorable” service record carries a stigma in the veteran community as well. Many organizations website stated that eligibility requires the characterization of service full of honor, leaving veterans to question whether they are “real” veterans.
Outside of a small subset of automatic “don’t ask, don’t tell” upgrades, everyone else is left to apply for upgrades on their own. Some reluctance to re-engage with the Department of Defense seems like salt in the wound. Others are put off by the process, which can take months to years of submitting documents, attending hearings and waiting for a final determination. Requests for upgrades to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era of veterans have increased, but the Navy and Marine Corps are still turning them down. 23% and 18%respectively, from this upgrade request.
The discharge review board has also approved upgrades for service members pushed out less than honorably who suffer from conditions such as post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. Still, the success rate is low for other veterans seeking upgrades: The Naval Discharge Review Board offers only relief. 33% of the claim with a mental health adjudication between April and June 2024.
The Pentagon should explore new systems with fewer objective discharge types and metrics. At a minimum, eligibility for VA benefits should reward time of service, using a transparent, sliding scale of benefits that increases based on length of career.
Conversations about the Pentagon’s antiquated and often unfair discharge system began before the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but little was done to explore alternatives. The discretion of commanders is so great in the current system that those who serve their country are not susceptible to bias. We must not allow veterans to fall through the cracks based on subjective notions of honor and shame.
Ryan Haberman is an Army veteran and senior policy analyst at Rand, where he focuses on national security strategy and government workforce issues.
