Posted on Apr 25, 2018
Can my son fight being chaptered out after drug use and DUI?
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My son is relatively new to the army. He has made a couple of bad choices. He used an illegal drug. It seemed as though the punishment was going to be minor. But a few weeks later he was caught drinking and driving. He was told that he would be transferred to another base and put in Substance Abuse program. Now they are telling him he will probably be chaptered out. Is there anything he can do? I realize you don't know my son and as a dad I am biased but he is really a good kid. Up until these two offenses he had been doing really well. Do they have to give him a chance at rehab before they chapter him out?
Parenting
Drugs
Alcohol
Discharge
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 177
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The Army has zero tolerance for drugs. ANY Soldier caught using Drugs is an automatic you out.
Had he only had the drinking and driving they would have placed him in rehab and went from there. Alcohol Issues the Army will keep you and put you through rehab. Drug use is 10000% you are out. I am sure he is a good kid but he was briefed this over and over again. If your urine sample test positive for drugs you will be put out the Army.
Had he only had the drinking and driving they would have placed him in rehab and went from there. Alcohol Issues the Army will keep you and put you through rehab. Drug use is 10000% you are out. I am sure he is a good kid but he was briefed this over and over again. If your urine sample test positive for drugs you will be put out the Army.
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Yes, he can fight it. He can ask fit a court-martial. No, they don't have to give him another chance.
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Good people often make bad decisions. Unfortunately, your son made some bad decisions that will follow him for a very long time. Very sad, but there's little he or you can do to fix the situation! Life is about choices. I wrote this article for my newspaper column a long time ago:
https://divinesimplicity.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/enduring-truths-for-recent-grads-7/
https://divinesimplicity.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/enduring-truths-for-recent-grads-7/
Enduring Truths for Recent Grads
Several years ago I wrote an articlefor my newspaper column with some advice for recent grads.It hasbecome one of the most popular pieces Iever wrote. I received dozens of emails thanking me …
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I've known people who have fought it and won. He just needs to get with JAG and seriously buckle down and show he can do it. He needs to be proactive and sell mseek help at adapc and with donate program at whatever base he's at. It wouldn't hurt for him to go up the chain to talk to him as well to say he really wants to stay in and show that he can be a good soldier. No it's just going to take determination hard work and persistence. And he's absolutely going to have to be super high speed and show them he's got what it takes
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I'm sure you think he's a good kid, but he has proven that he isn't a good soldier and isn't likely to ever be a good soldier. Being chaptered out is probably the best thing that can happen to him, because the almost certain consequence of his inevitable next "bad choice" would be court martial conviction (which is a federal felony on his record) and a bad conduct discharge.
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The short answer is yes. The long answer is that it would be virtually impossible for him to win. He has not demonstrated that keeping him would be in the best interest of the service.
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When I retired from the navy in 1996 it was pretty much zero tolerance for drugs or DUI. Exception where occasionally made for DUI, but you had to have been an otherwise outstanding sailor and be in a job field that they really needed.
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Is he someone I'd want my son to have to rely on? This isn't a corporate office or a retail store where a bad decision means a few dollars lost or a customer gets angry. As an adult we make our own decisions and have to live with the consequences. He was responsible for his own actions and now he's accountable for them. I hope, that since this was first published he's found a career he can enjoy and have success in.
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If the powers that be think that a Substance Abuse program will help your son AND if his Sgt and Plt. Sgt think so chances are that they will try the program otherwise it's an O.T.H. discharge The military policy on drug abuse may seem hard but it there for a reason..like the Forrestal fire
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As a parent, I’d echo your sentiments. As a former NCO & Officer, I’d be willing to bet the drug use and DUI were just the icing on the cake. I’d grind him under the heel of my boot.
I know from first hand experience. My 2LT son was discharged after testing positive in a random urinalysis. Paid back over $40,000 in scholarships. I told him the same thing.
I know from first hand experience. My 2LT son was discharged after testing positive in a random urinalysis. Paid back over $40,000 in scholarships. I told him the same thing.
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