What happens if you get a DUI after enlisting but before leaving for basic training?

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 May 2016 01:28:45 -0400

My Mom's co-worker's son enlisted in the NG and got a DUI and possibly an underage drinking charge while waiting to ship to basic. She called me to ask what will happen/what should he do, but I know very little about enlisting/recruiting. I know you cannot ship to basic with pending legal action, so my initial thought was "kid is screwed" and he needs to tell his recruiter. We had a similar situation happen in my ROTC Bat., and the kid got dropped, but I know that is a whole different animal. Can anyone offer a definitive answer for me, please?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2016 1:45 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 May 2016 01:45:06 -0400

Your friend needs to contact the recruiter ASAP. OK he needed to contact the recruiter yesterday.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2016 2:01 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:01:37 -0400

CPT Private RallyPoint Member As CSM Private RallyPoint Member has stated, this young man need to contact the recruiter and fully explain the charges.

Response by SSG Leo Bell made May 13 at 2016 2:19 AM

SSG Leo Bell — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:19:17 -0400

He needs to let his recruter know right away, your right he can not ship out with legal actions pending. If he was dropped making under age or giving achol to someone under age, plus a DUI he has screwed his self.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made May 13 at 2016 2:41 AM

SFC Joseph Weber — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:41:09 -0400

He'd be done if RA. NG might give him a waiver if he can get everything adjudicated and closed out before ship date.

Response by PVT James Chen made May 13 at 2016 8:07 AM

PVT James Chen — Fri, 13 May 2016 08:07:32 -0400

Clearance will be lost before he gets it.

Talk with the solicitor. Tell solicitors your going to basic. They might drop it or reduce it to wreckless driving.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 13 at 2016 9:22 AM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:22:53 -0400

All I can think to say is, "Like WOW!!!!" I had a friend who was to have gone to the USAF academy, or uSAFA, before I was undergrad with him, he'd had something similar, evidently had some sort of DUI on a motorcycle, crashed, got osteomyelitis, and USAFA said sorry, forget it, which, unfortunately and tragically broke his heart, he never recovered from it, tragic true story , the thing was, he hadn't sworn in yet, so he was clear from the active duty side of it, please understand all that while true of course was over 30 yrs ago now, obviously. All I can say for that one mentioned here is, first, once again, 'Like WOW!!!!" and, also, good luck....yikes.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2016 9:53 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:13 -0400

Kid needs to get that Recruiter on speed dial and call him post haste.

Response by SPC David S. made May 13 at 2016 12:03 PM

SPC David S. — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:03:56 -0400

Not good! The likelihood of a waiver is less than 0%. He will be dropped from the Recruit Sustainment Program and DQ'ed. However he needs to contact the recruiter ASAP - as well no one ships with any pending legal actions.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2016 1:25 PM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 May 2016 13:25:47 -0400

That kid is done. Stick a fork in him.
As others have said, he needs to contact his recruiter. Bad news doesn't get better with age; it only gets worse. If he tries to ignore it or hide it, that will be False Enlistment, which is a crime. Even IF they don't find out, civilian law enforcement will remember, and depending on their relationship with the MPs at Basic Training, kiddo will be arrested by either MPs or civilian law enforcement. That perp walk/walk of shame will be 100x worse at Basic. Nothing good can come of this.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made May 14 at 2016 7:24 PM

MSG Brad Sand — Sat, 14 May 2016 19:24:59 -0400

Having enlisted into the NG actually does change what will and could happen. It is going to be up to the gaining units Commander ultimately and mush will depend on details not in the question. Best advice for the soldier with the DUI is notify their Recruiter immediately.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 15 at 2016 6:33 PM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 May 2016 18:33:12 -0400

Ass beating by the recruiter

Response by Amn Anne Hofferkamp made May 15 at 2016 9:17 PM

Amn Anne Hofferkamp — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:17:44 -0400

In IL a DUI is considered a traffic violation unless someone is hurt/killed. Realize a charge is not the same as a misdemeanor or felony conviction.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made May 15 at 2016 10:07 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Sun, 15 May 2016 22:07:12 -0400

If getting a DUI had kept you out in my day millions would have wanted one. lol

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 5:16 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 17:16:28 -0400

AR 601-210, paragraph 4-32 A is the relevant regulation. The work around for this is the fact the judge dismisses it out right, without mentioning the pending enlistment in the court proceedings. So it technically isn't being dismissed for an enlistment, it's just being dismissed. It's also not '' law '' as some have quoted, unless a state specifically forbids it. To my knowledge, no state does. It's simply an Army regulation. It will definitely be a hard sell to the judge, but stranger things have happened.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 6:12 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 18:12:06 -0400

1) Contact recruiter. He knows the answers what's going to happen to him. 2) typically this depends on the service branch and how badly does the military needs him. Since he enlisted into NG (have no idea what MOS) if it is critical MOS, chances are he might get pushed back after probation. (unlikely but possible outcome. I've seen marine recruit who joined with two DUIs. He wasn't given the choice of what to be in Marines though on the open contract. 3) My personal opinion? 90% chance he will be dropped with the chances to enlist later on but with the waiver.

Everyone here knows the times are hard on the military now and even if you breathe the wrong way, you will be dropped for any small reason. When I joined, I knew someone who had manslaughter conviction and he got in as 19D. Now, many recruiters wouldn't even look at you for diversion for MIP or stealing candy from some gas station 8 years ago.

Here's my personal advice. Get a lawyer, preferably the one who specializes in the VA/Military Law and regulations. If he get's good lawyer (especially the ones on the personal basis with judges and prosecutors), chances are he could pull quite a few strings to get him going and the charges dropped on discretion.

The reason why I am saying this, I do believe in giving second chances to people who are that young to learn from their mistakes. Punish them but do not deprive them of the something they might have the calling from. We all make mistakes after all and now one is saint.

Response by SSgt Jamie Ritter LeBlanc made May 16 at 2016 6:29 PM

SSgt Jamie Ritter LeBlanc — Mon, 16 May 2016 18:29:04 -0400

As for ROTC same thing happened to a cadet (Senior) and he was set to get a commission but they dropped him immediately. Even though he hasn't left it must be reported or big trouble will ensue once they find out and dollars wasted on training someone.

Response by Sgt Dale Briggs made May 16 at 2016 7:59 PM

Sgt Dale Briggs — Mon, 16 May 2016 19:59:23 -0400

My HS friend and I went into the Marines on the buddy program, he got hit on a misdemeanor for a very small amount of pot. He lost his ability to get and maintain the security clearance necessary for our field. He was still allowed in, but forced to a different MOS. Now who knows, Obama has downsized the military to an alarming level do any open billets probably have a lot of competition. My sons AF, they're letting guys go for minor infractions, and DUIs, anything even a bit negative.

Response by CPL Jay Strickland made May 17 at 2016 9:05 AM

CPL Jay Strickland — Tue, 17 May 2016 09:05:38 -0400

Get an attorney asap and tell him he is going to ship to basic. Sometimes the Local DA will cut a deal for those shipping out since they have a reduced risk of getting a DUI in that town.

Response by SFC Wayne Theilen made May 17 at 2016 10:58 AM

SFC Wayne Theilen — Tue, 17 May 2016 10:58:21 -0400

He's pretty much done. Unless his recruiter can some how pull a waiver from God himself. Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 2:34 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 May 2016 14:34:35 -0400

Saw a similar issue when I was in Boot Camp; all of 3rd Battalion was called over to the recruits barracks for the arrest, big spectacle to make sure we know what happens.

Honestly this kid is probably done for; I would expect his contract and all enlistment paperwork to be shredded.

Then again, it's the NG, so they may just tell him to come back after his sentence is over and try his luck starting from scratch. If it had been the Marines it wouldn't even take this much, they would tell him never to step foot in the recruitment office again

Response by SFC Antonio Nieto made May 17 at 2016 9:33 PM

SFC Antonio Nieto — Tue, 17 May 2016 21:33:24 -0400

You get arrested

Response by SSG Richard Reilly made May 19 at 2016 10:17 AM

SSG Richard Reilly — Thu, 19 May 2016 10:17:28 -0400

Have him tell his recruiter...also he has to get it taken care of before he leaves for BCT. If not Sheriffs could show up and arrest him for a bench warrant.

Response by 1SG Wayne Butt made Jun 2 at 2016 1:15 PM

1SG Wayne Butt — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 13:15:45 -0400

Speaking from experience - I was really lucky on mine! Get the recruiter on-board asap and get ready to write a letter and/or meet OIC one-on-one! 30+ years ago I was in this predicament at 30 days from shipping. I was able to obtain a secret clearance for the next 20 years in my MOS. Wasn't easy, but it was a mistake that one would not want to happen again. The OIC I had to interview with lost his son two months prior to a drunk driver. This really hit home and was an eye-opener for me. Alcohol was my drug of choice and the abuse continued for four more years when I finally woke up and was saved by Our Lord. Lots of prayers to the young men and women going through this. Have hope and it will all work out according to the Plan.