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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogI Received an OTH Discharge For My Second Enlistment, Will I Still Get the GI Bill?
March 17th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I served in the United States Army in 05/2004 to 07/2009, but got out on an “OTH” discharge. I finished my first enlistment which was 3 years, and the OTH discharge happened on my second enlistment. I am also a combat veteran. Any advice if I am eligible will be appreciated. Thank you, Eric
Hi Eric, We had another question similar to yours awhile back, and I believe we all learned something new. The way I understand it now is, if on one of your enlistments you qualified for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the fact that you received a discharge other than honorable on another enlistment should not affect your Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility. It sounds like you qualified for the Post 9/11 GI Bill on your first enlistment, you served at least 90 days of active duty after 10 September 2001, and by serving for 36 months on active duty, you should be eligible for full benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, including being eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program. You didn’t mention what your discharge was for the first enlistment, but it would have had to be honorable to qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
I am basing this on what other veterans in situations similar to yours have been able to do. This is the GIBill.com blog post where is was discussed. If you hit any stumbling blocks, you may want to contact one of the veterans who were able to make it work.
34 Responses to “I Received an OTH Discharge For My Second Enlistment, Will I Still Get the GI Bill?”
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Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
what if you dont have your dd214 for your first enlistment? could you use your initial contract and your re-enlistment forms?
There should be a record of your initial enlistment. If you go onto the VONAPP website to apply for your GI Bill benefits, your initial enlistment with your qualifying discharge should be taken into account.
thank you jeffery. i finished my initial enlistment and i got OTH discharge which happened on my second enlistment, what do you mean with qualifying discharge?
thank you jeffery. i finished my initial enlistment and i got OTH discharge which happened on my second enlistment, what do you mean with qualifying discharge coz if you talkin about my recent period of active duty discharged, i got OTH discharge. i dont have the dd214 for my initial enlistment as i reenlisted with no break.
Hi, Sorry I made it confusing. Your first enlistment was your qualifying enlistment. You served enough to qualify for the GI Bill, and you received an honorable discharge. When you apply for the GI Bill on VONAPP, use that enlistment on your application, the military should have a record of it.
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Great info! I am in a similar situation. I have reenlisted twice and am receiving an OTH now. But just to be clear, since I technically received 2 honorable discharges already, I still qualify for Gi benefits? Should the qualifying discharges bee found in my service record? Because I have never actually received a DD214. (I do not separate for a couple more weeks). What ppwrk will I need to show VA to receive the post 911 Gi bill?
Hi Seth, You should qualify for GI Bill benefits if you earned one of the GI Bills during your previous enlistments that ended with Honorable Discharges. The Montgomery GI Bill requires that you contribute $100 a month to it the first year of your enlistment. If you didn’t do that, even with an Honorable Discharge you are not going to be eligible for that GI Bill. The Post 9/11 GI Bill doesn’t require a contribution. You would be eligible for it if you served at least 90 days on active duty after 10 September 2001 and received an Honorable Discharge for that enlistment. If you served at least 36 months of active duty time after that same date and have an Honorable Discharge for that enlistment, then you should be eligible for the full benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The VA should have a record of your Honorable Discharges and if you go to the VONAPP website, you should have access to the information as to how much GI Bill benefits you are eligible for.
i recieved an oth in my first enlistment and am now trying to use my fathers benefits for DEA i recieved a letter from the va asking me to summarize the events that led to my discharge and send it back to them i have done some research and found that i can use the benefits with my disharge if the va determines that my disharge wasnt dishonorable
I served 6 years active duty with 2 years IRR..have a dd214 for Honorable discharge for first term…Joined the reserves 2months before my active duty contract expired for stabilization.. going through the process of receiving OTH. How will that effect my job hunting along with va benefits that I receive currently from the reserve side.
Your Reserve benefits will cease upon you discharge, which they would have regardless of your character-of-service rating. Because you have an Honorable Discharge from your 6 year active duty tour, your benefits from that GI Bill are safe. I wouldn’t worry to much about this OTH.
Ron
Thanks for the information Mr. Kness, was’nt 100% sure. was thinking about spending close to 5000.00 money I dont have to try and fight it because of the benefits I use to go to school and my job hunting abilities being devastated. Have any information on my ability to apply for work with this oth on my reserve record? Once again I was discharged Honorable with my 6 years of active duty service.
I work in the Military and Veterans Affairs office at a college and the requirement is an Honorable Discharge. The VONAPP requires you to list ALL periods of service and they will match the information you provide against the information the VA has in their database.
Basic Chapter 33 Eligibility
Served on Active Duty since 9/11/01
– Title 10
– At least an aggregate of 90 days
Possess an Honorable discharge
Possess a High School diploma or GED
Have not passed your delimiting date (15 years from last separation of AD)
Remember the VA determines all eligibility. I always advise veterans to fill out the VONAPP and let them decide. If you omit information they will decline your request for benefits.
Hi Michael, Thanks for your input and clarification. I agree that all information should be provided, but it’s our understanding that as long as a service member or veteran has an Honorable Discharge that is shown on their DD-214 from the enlistment that they earned their GI bill benefits serving; a subsequent less than honorable discharge will not affect those benefits.
i just got denied for gi bill which i paid for on first enlistment which i received honorable discharge, but second enlistment was an oth so not sure if rules apply on this ….
Hi Kevin, If you have an Honorable Discharge from your first enlistment and it is shown as such on your DD-214, then you should be eligible for your Montgomery GI Bill benefits. Contact the VA and explain the situation; you may have to provide them with a copy of your DD-214.
Does there need to be a break in service between an honorabe discharge and an other than honorable discharge to receive the gi bill?
Hi Morgan, There needs to be enough of a break in service that your Honorable Discharge shows up on your DD-214.
Does anyone have any information on what to do to be eligible for the post 9/11 Bill? I received an honorable discharge for the first 5 years i served in the navy. Unfortunately, I later received an OTH for the mistakes I made. What I understand from reading the blogs above is that I should be eligible for benifits. I applied earlier and got denied. Is there anything I can do to receive benfits.
Chris, If you have a copy of your DD-214 showing your Honorable Discharge, set up a meeting with a VA rep at the regional office that serves your location and show them your paperwork. Other than that all you can do is appeal their decision to deny your benefits.
hello chris
i went through the same thing when i tried to get post 911 bill. All i did was when i got my rejection letter was wrote them a letter stating why i was appealing the ruling whitch was i had re-enlisted then got a oth. I also sent them a copy of the re-enlistment paper work. i was then aproved for post 911 bill, but it was from the date i had re-enlisted so you have 15 years from that date. Hope this helps this is a great site thanks to everyone who puts in the hard work here.
Jeremy
My husband has been trying to get the Montgomery G.I. Bill since last August, he began school in August of 2009. His first enlistment was honorable and he got out with an O.T.H. on his second enlistment, the military messed up on his DD214 and it did not show his first enlistment as honorable! He had to send in a change request in which case they have recently sent him a DD215 which now shows his honorable dates of his first enlistment but it shows his final discharge as Other Than Honorable! Will his benefits finally be granted to him after all this work or should we still expect issues? And will they back pay him for all the time he’s missed out on it?
Hi Darlene, That is always a difficult situation and I can’t say you won’t continue to have some issues getting it resolved. If the DD-215 you have now shows an Honorable Discharge for his first enlistment, you might want to set up a meeting at the regional VA office that handles your area and talk face to face to a VA rep rather than going back and forth through the the mail. In a lot of cases like this you just have to try to push things through rather than waiting for them to filter through the normal channels; at least that has been my experience.
As far as the past funds are concerned, that might be helped by a face to face meeting also. I have heard of it going both ways; it just depends on the situation and who you are talking to. It wouldn’t hurt to get the VA Certifying Official at the school involved as well, even if it’s just by writing a letter that you can take along to your meeting.
Ok same situation. I have been finding conflicting information. i served 8 Years honorably, re-enlisted twice on my 3rd enlistment i am getting discharged with an OTH possibly a General (under honorable conditions). So for the re-enlistments when you receive the HONORABLE discharge i was told by many people that those are enough to get the benefits that you earned no matter what the end discharge was? Whats the real deal with this? Thanks in advance.
Hi Eric, If you had an Honorable Discharge from the enlistment during which you earned your GI Bill benefits–which is the first enlistment for most service members–then the type of discharge you have from subsequent enlistsments should not affect your already earned benefits. It will help a lot if your initial Honorable Discharge is noted on your DD-214. If you are denied benefits, appeal the decision and provide your paperwork.
Hi I have an honorable discharge from the navy and completed my IRR time in the navy and got my final discharge for my total 8 year enlistment. I joined the reserve about 9 months ago and could not go to wtc which i told the command and didnt seem to help so i did not go and even talked to the head recruiter in th office and dropped off my uniforms at the center. Now iam getting a letter from the center saying their putting me in for an OTH because of not giving them an excuse for not going to drill. Will take away my gi bill and va health benefits. Thank you
Hi Steven, If you have an Honorable Discharge from your time on active duty when you earned your GI Bill benefits, an OTH discharge from the Reserves should not affect your ability to use those benefits. Keep in mind that your time period for using them started when you left active duty. I’m not an expert on VA medical benefits, but I wouldn’t think they would be affected either.
Jeff
I am an active duty Marine with nearly 8 years of service and 3 combat deployments. I have 44 days left in the Marine Corps. My command is actively trying to kick me out with an OTH before my EAS. Here’s my question about this first/second enlistment GI Bill thing – I dont know how the other services do it, but the Marine Corps doesnt give you a DD214 when you reenlist. On a Marine’s first reenlistment, they dont discharge you and then swear you back in – when you sign your new contract, your next enlistment starts right then. That means I only get one DD214 when I get out that will characterize my entire career.
So, if you only get one DD214 and it says OTH for misconduct during your second enlistment – can you still qualify for benefits for your first enlistment? You can obviously assume that the first enlistment was honorable, otherwise they wouldnt allow you to reenlist, but without paper documentation, how can you qualify?
i been in the navy 11 years and now getting discharged with a OTH do i keep my GI Bill. i been in since june 1999.
Hi Chris, I recommend that you request Mast all the way up to the Division Commander if necessary. I don’t know your situation and if you have done something pretty bad, it might not do you much good, but I wouldn’t think it could be too bad or you’d be in the brig. It sounds to me like you’ve earned your GI Bill benefits with your service and by not allowing you to finish your 44 days and leaving with an Honorable Discharge they may be causing you to lose them.
If you leave with an OTH discharge for misconduct, I think there is going to be a good chance you’re not going to receive your benefits. You can appeal the decision if they’re denied and it’s possible the decison could be reversed, but I think they’re going to look at it as all one enlistment and base their decision on your final discharge. Your other option would be to apply to have your discharge upgraded after you leave the military. Good luck!
Jeff
Hi Clifton, If you earned your GI Bill benefits during an initial enlistment and you have an Honorable Discharge for that enlistment, you should receive your benefits without a problem. If this OTH discharge is your first discharge, your benefits are probably going to be denied when you first apply for them. You can appeal the decision and if the discharge did not involve any bad conduct, there’s a good chance the decision will be reversed and you’ll receive your benefits.
Jeff
Hi my name is Cesar, I enlisted regular army active duty in july 2003 for a 2yr enlistment. I succesfully served my initial enlistment and decided to reenlist to go be able to go to ranger school it was during my reenlistment that I was chaptered out of the miltitary for misconduct and recieved an OTH. After being chaptered I applied for and recieved a COE for my MGIB and when I tried to submitted my VONNAP for post 911 benefits. I was denied benifits for having an OTH. I later appealed the decision under periods of multiple enlistment and was still denied. On my DD214 It states” MEMBER HAS COMPLETED FIRST FULL TERM OF SERVICE”. I had the fourtune (if you can call it that) of recieving a purple heart while deployed and that is how I am currently going to college under those benefits. My question is what do I need to do to obtain the benefits owed to me for my inital enlistment, I paid the 1200 dollars and everything. Is my dd214 that states, ” MEMBER HAS COMPLETED FIRST FULL TERM OF SERVICE”, enough or do i need to request a seperate dd214 for my initial enlistment and if so how do I do it.I would really like to pursue a masters with my post 911 benefits but I do not know what I need to do. Whenever I call and finally get through to the VA and ask them they simply say that my packet was denied due to my discharge and thats all. please help thank you.
I think your DD214 is lacking the part about your characterization of service. You complete your first term of service, but it doens’t say if it was honorable or not. Submit a copy of your honorable discharge and see what you get back.