What is a "Less Than Honorable Discharge"?
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Answer:
less than honorable discharge means they did something undesireable in the millitary and broke the Uniform Code of Millitary Justice. It usually means they were court marshaled for something they did.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicela...
Under Other Than Honorable Conditions. OTH Discharges are warranted when the reason for separation is based upon a pattern of behavior that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of members of the Military Services, or when the reason for separation is based upon one or more acts or omissions that constitute a significant departure from the conduct expected of members of the Military Services. Examples of factors that may be considered include the use of force or violence to produce serious bodily injury or death, abuse of a special position of trust, disregard by a superior of customary superior-subordinate relationships, acts or omissions that endanger the security of the United States or the health and welfare of other members of the Military Services, and deliberate acts or omissions that seriously endanger the health and safety of other persons.
Persons awarded an OTH
Other Than Honorable (OTH)
An Other Than Honorable Discharge is the most severe of administrative discharges. This type of discharge represents a serious departure from the conduct and performance expected of all military members. OTH discharges are typically given to servicemembers convicted by a civilian court in which a sentence of confinement has been adjudged or in which the conduct leading to the conviction brings discredit upon the service; other-than-honorable discharges are often accepted in-lieu of court-martial. Persons facing an OTH discharge are guaranteed, by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the right to be tried by court-martial, however, many choose administrative discharge rather than face the possibility of a court-martial conviction (and thus the stigma of the Bad Conduct Discharge that often follows).
Recipients of OTH discharges are barred from reenlisting into any component of the Armed Forces (including the reserves), and are normally barred from joining the Army and Air National Guard, except under rare circumstances which require exception-to-policy waivers. As of September 2006, all 50 states had policies barring the reenlistment of OTH discharge recipients.
In addition, the majority of veterans' benefits are not available to individuals who receive an under other than honorable conditions discharge, including the Montgomery GI Bill and (in most cases) VA healthcare benefits.
It could be a discharge for someone who could not adapt to military life or was not otherwise suited for the military. If it says they had a dis honorable discharge, thats not good.
Means they were discharged from the Military for Serious Misconduct...you have to do something pretty bad to get get an Other Than Honorable...an Example I can give you of what a Soldier I know did to get an OTH: Attempted Sexual Battery...A Dishonorable is still the worst...they go from best to worse:
Honorable
General
Other Than Honorable
Dishonorable
EDIT: OTH is not for "Minor" infractions and smoking weed in the Military is not a minor infraction, especially someone who was in for 8 years...they give General Discharges for "Minor" infractions...I wager the person below me husband was an NCO and that is why he got an OTH...NCOs are suppose to know better...I wouldn't hire someone with a OTH...they are not dependable...
My husband is in this status. In his case he served 8 years in the Navy. He had one minor infraction (smoking weed once) and they kicked him out and gave him a "Less Than Honorable Discharge". Otherwise he had 3 commendations and a spotless record. It's usually a discharge for a one time mistake, when they otherwise would have given an Honorable Discharge. In your position as an HR person, I would say Please do not hold it against anyone. Because of this status, my husband is not eligible for any veteran's benefits and our request for a status change was denied.
I would think that it is a watered down way of saying "A dishonorable Discharge" At least that the way it was when I was in WW2. You either got a an "Honorable Discharge" or a "Dishonorable Discharge". Things may have changed, like so many other things in the Military , that you might want to call the Veterans Administration and ask them .
It means that they did not finish there enlistment as contracted as far as time goes. The person got kicked out for something like drugs or misconduct. This discharge also makes the person lose all military benefits after discharge like the GI Bill and they will be banned from EVER getting a government of governement contract job. These people did not serve honorably in the service and as a result got a "Under Other Than Honorable"discharge that they wrote up on their resume as less than honorble. There is no such thing as less than honorable, just Under Other Than Honorable. Not sure if I would hire anyone you see with this on their resume. If they can not do right by their country, why would you want them doing anything at your company. Usually these people were given several second chances to straighten themselves out while on active duty, but they still just did what they wanted to do and broke whatever rules they felt like. Doesn't make a good employee that you can trust in my eyes. I would never hire any of these people.
For the wife of the pothead. After 8 years her pothead husband finally got caught by the zero tolerance law that is clear as day in all military branches. That guy knew better and was probably smoking pot the whole time he was on active duty but thankfully finally got caught. Why would you just look away at an offense like this one if you are an employer. Say you have a rule at work like no stealing. Say you hire this guy and tell him the day he started working there that there was no stealing and everyday was reminded that there was no stealing, but one day he gets caught stealing. He knew he wasn't supposed to do it, but he did it anyway. This is exactly what Mr. Pothead did, he just blew of the rule and did what he wanted to get high. Why would anyone want to hire a person that cannot follow a simple rule. That kind of person is a huge liability to any company because they do not care about right and wrong and will do whatever they want to do instead of what they should be doing. She is living in a la la land if she thinks her man is worth hiring. There are lots of crappy jobs out there that he can do, but I would trust him to even empty port-o-potties. One day he will just decide he doesn't want to come to work or something. What a great kind of person to hire..not in my company!!
As an HR professional, you should know this already.
Military discharges come in five flavors (note that this applies only to enlisted men; officers do a different dance):
1. Honorable Discharge
2. General Discharge, sometimes known as General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions. This usually results from an administrative punishment (Army; Navy calls it "mast," Marines call it "office hours"). The servicemember is being fired.
3. Other Than Honorable. (OTH) This is the most serious form of punitive discharge that can be imposed administratively, i.e., without a court martial. It is frequently imposed when a service member is sent to jail by a civilian court, or when a civilian matter (even a nasty messy civil proceeding) casts disrepute upon the service.
4. Bad Conduct Discharge. This results from a General or Special Court Martial. The servicemember was bad, did not accept an OTH Discharge, demanded a court martial, and lost the gamble.
5. Dishonorable Discharge. Reserved for really bad apples, the DD can be imposed only by a general court and only for really serious crimes, like rape, robbery, attempted murder, desertion, mutiny.
It is exactly what it says, less than honorable.
honorable
adjective
1. not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent; "honest lawyers"; "honest reporting" [syn: honest] [ant: dishonest]
2. worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect; "an honorable man"; "led an honorable life"; "honorable service to his country" [ant: dishonorable]
3. adhering to ethical and moral principles; "it seems ethical and right"; "followed the only honorable course of action" [syn: ethical]
4. deserving of esteem and respect; "all respectable companies give guarantees"; "ruined the family's good name" [syn: estimable]
I would think long and hard before giving a job to someone with a less than honorable discharge.
If you see anything other than 'Honorable Discharge' on a resume - hire somebody else. In fact you should ask for anybody with military service on their resume for a copy of their DD-214. This serves as a resume of their military service and at the bottom are two very important pieces of information the type/reason for the discharge and their re-enlistment code. You can find the meanings of these codes on the net and this will tell you a lot about the prospective employee.
A 'Less Than Honorable' means that the person was kicked out of the military for either a serious act of misconduct or a pattern of misconduct.
Examples of things that would result in this:
Drug abuse while an officer or NCO
Sentenced to prison by a civilian court
A pattern of minor criminal offenses
2nd offense drug abuse for a junior enlisted
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