Why is it that Officers cannot receive Dishonorable Discharge or Bad Conduct Discharges? Instead they get a dismissal notice, is that fair?

CPO Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 16:19:02 -0500

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 5 at 2016 4:29 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 16:29:51 -0500

A "Dismissal Notice" is a Punitive Discharge akin to a Dishonorable Discharge.

Keep in mind "all of the above" can still only happen with Courts Martial Procedures (Guilty) so the person receiving them is still classified as a Felon. We are just "calling" it something different.

A lot of this comes down to the historical & traditional differences between Officers and Enlisted. It's not about "fairness." A retired Officer is still an Officer, and still has quite a few of the Powers of a Commissioned Officer. A retired Enlisted, not so much.

Response by CPT Mark Gonzalez made Feb 5 at 2016 5:07 PM

CPT Mark Gonzalez — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 17:07:28 -0500

This is only a question if convicted at court martial and there is more important label at that point "a felon".

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Feb 5 at 2016 6:24 PM

Capt Mark Strobl — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 18:24:55 -0500

CPO Private RallyPoint Member As officers are commissioned, they can only be dismissed from the rolls by the Secretary of their respective branch --and usually as a result of a General Courts Martial. Dismissal carries the same weight as a BCD. I suppose its really a matter of semantics.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 2:06 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 14:06:13 -0500

Dismissals carry similar weght as BCDs or DD. Just symantics really. Both will screw up the rest of your life.

Response by MAJ John Douglas made Jul 29 at 2018 3:38 AM

MAJ John Douglas — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 03:38:05 -0400

Yes, its fair. There are a lot of differences in how officers and enlisted are treated, this is just another example. Dismissal is the same as a dishonorable discharge. It means no benefits, nothing.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2019 7:40 AM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 07:40:48 -0500

It's because officers are literally appointed by the president. It's one of the hold-ups in announcing promotions every year...the list goes through the SECDEF for approval before it is made public.
Also...your poll options don't seem like they make sense.