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> Eventually turned myself in and (miraculously) got out with an honorable discharge. How did you swing this?

• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• ramesh31 4y ago
  >How did you swing this? Mostly luck and timing. I was in a combat unit that was deploying to Iraq in a matter of weeks as part of the troop surge. They didn't have the time or interest in court martialling me for the AWOL charges when I came back. So they busted me down to E-1 private, put me on extra duty, and told me I was still going to deploy. At that point I knew I had to get out. My first thought was to go for Conscientious Objector status, but that only gets you reassigned to non combat duties. So I spoke with an army doctor about why I went AWOL, and convinced him that it was part of a bipolar manic episode. Bipolar disorder is one of a few preexisting conditions that can qualify you for an honorable discharge, so as soon as the diagnosis was made, I was put on the "do not deploy" list and processed out.
  • gaws 4y ago
    > So I spoke with an army doctor about why I went AWOL, and convinced him that it was part of a bipolar manic episode. Bipolar disorder is one of a few preexisting conditions that can qualify you for an honorable discharge, so as soon as the diagnosis was made, I was put on the "do not deploy" list and processed out. And you're still dealing with bipolar disorder?
    • ramesh31 4y ago
      > And you're still dealing with bipolar disorder? Yes, although mild. Even though my service triggered and agravated it, I don’t have any claims to disability because it was considered preexisting. The deal with my discharge was basically “We’ll give you an honorable in exchange for not claiming disability”. I think it was a fair trade.