Defending Administrative Discharges in the U.S. Military

When a commander starts talking about an administrative discharge, your career, benefits, and reputation are suddenly on the line. Although it’s not a court-martial, the truth is an admin separation can follow you for life unless you fight it.

At Cave & Freeburg, we defend Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen worldwide. We’ve handled hundreds of separation boards—including many cases where clients walked away with retention, upgraded characterizations, or no adverse findings at all.

The Four Possible Service Characterizations

Most service members only see the top line—“I’m getting kicked out.” But the characterization is what future employers, state licensing boards, and the VA will care about. There are four categories:

1. Honorable

This is the gold standard.

An Honorable discharge means your service met or exceeded military expectations. You usually maintain full benefits, and it avoids stigma. In many cases—even in misconduct separations—a strong defense can push the board or command toward an Honorable when the record supports it.

2. General (Under Honorable Conditions)

You keep most VA benefits except the GI Bill, and the stigma is lighter than an OTH. Still, a General discharge can hurt federal and contractor employment and may raise questions for professional licensing. For many clients, our goal is upgrading a proposed General to an Honorable—or preventing any separation at all.

3. Other Than Honorable (OTH)

This is the harshest administrative characterization.

An OTH can cost you:

• VA benefits
• GI Bill
• Security clearance eligibility
• Federal employment opportunities
• Some state benefits and veterans’ preference

Despite this, commands often propose OTHs with weak evidence or minimal documentation. A well-prepared case—challenging the basis, credibility, and proportionality—can stop an OTH from ever being approved.

The command must give you an administrative separation board (also known as a board of inquiry or BOI for officers) before giving you an OTH.

4. Uncharacterized (Entry-Level)

This applies to service members in their first 180 days.

It’s not negative—it simply means the military didn’t have enough time to evaluate performance and there is usually no misconduct stigma attached.

Why Six Years of Service Matters

If you have six or more years of total service (active, reserve, or combined), you are entitled to a separation board before the military can discharge you—even for minor misconduct.

That means you get:

• An attorney (civilian counsel of your choice)
• The right to fight the evidence
• The right to call witnesses
• The right to cross-examine the command’s witnesses
• The right to present your full service record and mitigation

This board is your opportunity to stop the discharge entirely or secure a better characterization. Many cases that look unwinnable on paper are won at the board because the government’s evidence is weak, inconsistent, or unfairly interpreted.

Without six years, your command can process you “notification-only,” if they are only seeking a General characterization, meaning no board, no witnesses, and limited ability to fight back. In those cases, our strategy shifts to attacking the packet, rebutting the allegations, and arguing disproportionality directly to the separation authority.

Common Bases for Administrative Separation We Defend

• Alleged pattern of misconduct
• Drug use or urinalysis cases
• “Minor” disciplinary issues (Article 15, counseling statements)
• Failure to adapt / failure to meet standards
• Domestic incidents
• Alcohol incidents
• Commission of a serious offense
• Unsatisfactory participation (Reserve/Guard)

In every case, we analyze the legal sufficiency, procedural errors, and command discretion. Many separations look clean until someone who knows the system dissects them.

How We Defend Your Career

Our approach is simple:

1. Challenge the Basis

We attack the government’s evidence: credibility, inconsistencies, provocation, command bias, procedural defects, and improper counseling practices.

2. Build Your Record

We develop a comprehensive portrait of the service member—evaluations, NCOERs/OERs, deployments, awards, and third-party statements—so the board sees you as more than the allegations.

3. Fight for Retention or the Best Characterization

Even if separation is likely, the characterization is not predetermined. We often secure Honorable or Generalcharacterizations where commands initially demanded an OTH.

Your Career Is Worth Defending

An administrative discharge can affect your benefits, career, family, and future. You don’t have to go through this alone.

We represent service members worldwide.

Call us before you respond to anything from your command.