Distinction without a Difference: Other than Honorable vs. Bad Conduct Discharge

• Published in: The Army Lawyer 2024-01 (1), p.38-46
• Main Author: Morales, Eleanor T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agent Orange; Armed forces; Attorneys; Contact stresses; Convictions; Enrollments; Federal regulation; Health care facilities; Injuries; Legislation; Mental disorders; Military personnel; Military psychology; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological stress; Veterans
• ISSN: 0364-1287; 1554-9011

John, a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran, has been fighting to access U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare for his service-connected wounds for more than half a century.1 John was drafted into the Army in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War as an armor reconnaissance specialist.2 While deployed to Vietnam, he was wounded by an enemy rocket that left permanent scars on his neck.3 Not only did John endure physical injuries, but he also suffers from the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).4 Although he was eligible for a Purple Heart for his combat-sustained injuries and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his contact with the enemy on the battlefield, those awards were never conferred upon John while he was in service.5 Tragically, John served at a time "when racism, homophobia, and a lack of understanding [of PTSD] clouded many discharge decisions. Today, over fifty years later, John suffers from multiple serious medical conditions that are presumptively service-connected under the relevant VA regulations due to the impact of Agent Orange.8 For decades, John tried on his own to obtain healthcare at VA for these service-connected medical conditions, but VA improperly denied John healthcare due to his OTH discharge.9 John eventually obtained legal counsel at The University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Law's Military and Veterans Law Clinic, which focuses on his type of case.10 Fortunately, because of the clinic's efforts, VA finally approved him for healthcare benefits and issued him a letter of eligibility to take to the VA hospital to enroll.11 This approval should have opened the door to lifesaving, cost-free healthcare for which he was never precluded, even with an OTH discharge characterization.12 A VA healthcare enrollment official still turned John away when he tried to enroll because of the OTH discharge characterization.13 The enrollment official would not even look at the VA-issued eligibility letter.14 As a result, the UNC clinic continued to work to get John enrolled in healthcare for his service-incurred disabilities, including speaking directly with senior VA officials.15 Today, John is finally receiving healthcare at a VA medical center.16 Additionally, thanks to the UNC clinic's efforts, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) corrected John's military records to reflect a fully honorable discharge and removed all references to his involuntary administrative separation.17 The ABCMR also aw