Ok so I tried doing research on my own but everything that came up was a few years old. I recently joined the USAF after not getting accepted into college and thinking it was my only option, well as you probably guessed it was NOT the right chouce for me. I was wondering if there is anything i can do to leave active duty without getting a dishonorable discharge and without being close to my date of seperation. 
If there is anything anyone can think of to help me please let me know, im not looking to get dishonorable discharge i just want out somehow…
Have they paid for any schooling? How long was your contract?
no schooling just the training for my job, and my contract is 6 years
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/f/faqdischarge.htm
The link squares with what I remember. Basically, you can ask for an early separation (up to a year early, but usually less than that). However, unless your rating is WAY overcrowded, this generally requires joining the Reserves or Nat. Guard.
It also says you can request up to a six-month early discharge to start college. That one I didn’t know about and I wonder if it started after I got out ('89).
NM, you answered the question.
i was looking at that article and it talkes about entry level seperation if you havent served for more than 180 days? do you possibly know what this means
If you get an administrative discharge, it was be characterized an Honorable or General(under honorable conditions) discharge. If it’s in the first 180 days of service, the discharge won’t be categorized at all.
There is some information here.
Here are some of the conditions required for an administrative discharge before the end of your contract: early release to further education, early release to accept public office, dependency or hardship, pregnancy or childbirth, conscientious objection, immediate reenlistment, separation to accept a commission, and sole surviving family member.
From the article linked to in my original link:
More in the article: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/a/getout4.htm
So, in other words, you canNOT ask for an ELS. If you are getting out anyway, it’s something the CO can choose to say about your service.
Note: At the bottom of that article is a list of ways to gain that initial separation that might (or might not) be characterized as ELS.
Honestly, you’re probably stuck unless you’re willing to live with the possibility of an “other than honorable” (which you should not be - that shit follows you around for a LONG time). Think of it as a very expensive lesson learned. Some advice - play the game the way they want it played, but don’t let the game get to you (it actually does help to think of it as a game). You can survive it and you might even learn a few things that will help you later on (I know I did).
If I can ask, how long have you been in? Are you still in Basic or A-School? If so, just suck it up and get through it. The actual service is way different than the initial stuff. I didn’t really like Basic (although I was Navy, so it was actually pretty easy) and hated School, but loved my actual job once I hit the “real” Navy.
Im at my first duty station, ill admit its better than basic and tech school but idk the stress and something inside me just wants to get away from it all
If I were advising my younger self in the first or second years of service, I would point out that an other-than-honorable discharge is not the same as a dishonorable discharge. An OTH basically means you can’t get any military benefits, can’t join the reserves, and shouldn’t mention your past military service when applying for a job. In my case these meant absolutely nothing, as the benefits were weak and, and all prospective employers cared about was whether I had the job skills they were looking for. Nobody really gave a shit about how wonderfully your character is improved by the military unless you’re applying a job with the government or with one of those mercenary contractor outfits.
So I would have started smoking pot immediately and heavily*, and let it slip out that I was doing so until I failed a drug screen. Then I would have gritted my teeth and borne the humiliation of an OTH discharge, and gotten on with reality.
- Edited to add, of course I wouldn’t have been impaired while at work, and I wouldn’t have gotten busted possessing, especially not in traffickable quantities. That escalates it to a whole other ballgame.
NM.
The easiest and fastest way to get an early separation is to fail the new PT test numerous times. It will take over a year, but the new regs have teeth and they will eventually run you out. How you’ll be able to do that is beyond me because they will work you out regularly until you pass or get the boot, but that is up to you.
You could also have your girlfriend get a PFA on you. The Lautenberg Amendment guarantees that you will be drummed out.
Yet another way is to injure yourself such that you have a medically disqualifying condition. That’s not the way I would go, but that’s your call.
The bottom line is this: if you don’t want to be there, we (fellow enlisted) don’t want you to be there. Make a decision and live with your decision, Airman. Go talk to your First Sergeant tomorrow and see what happens. But whatever you decide, until it’s resolved do your job to the utmost of your ability. Someone somewhere is depending on you, even if it’s just to get paid. At least pretend you care.
Or a VA-backed home loan (and most government jobs of any kind will look askance at an OTH (incl. City, County, State, etc). That’s a ton of job market to cut yourself out of esp. in this economy.
jampaintball, go talk to your chaplain or find a buddy or something. This is not a decision to make lightly in a moment of stress.
but if i were to fail a drug test wouldnt that lead to dishonorable and jail time? or is that only if you are caught in posession of it
im not letting this affect my work at all believe me i know how important this is and that its not to be taken lightly ive been off and on with this whole thing for some time now, its like every day im either fine with it all or i hate it and want out desperately, idk if thats normal for people who serve but it seems to me like everyone loves it
Former Personnelist here, with good contacts at AFPC(I’m now civil service).
If you don’t mind my asking, what is your AFSC? How long have you been in? That will help me determine some of your options.
Aside from that, what exactly is it that has you thinking you don’t want to stay in? I used to tell all my young folks to hang in a little longer. If you’ve just gotten to your first duty station out of tech school things will get better. The “real” Air Force isn’t like BMT or tech training.
Don’t do anything stupid like intentionally fail your PT test or drug test. You won’t get kicked out right away by failing PT…it starts a long, drawn out process that will be worse than just toughing it out. As far as drug testing, there are major consequences to failing that, and I’m certain you don’t want to deal with that. Dishonorable Discharge is the least of what can/will happen.
I suggest talking to your Shirt or to a Chaplain (even if you aren’t particularly religious–they can’t tell anyone what you talk about unless you tell them you’re planning a murder).
Feel free to PM if you want to talk more about it…
i think that’s how 95% of people feel about their civilian jobs.
Dude, you’re in the Air Force. Be glad you didn’t join the Marines or the Army. Just serve your enlistment period. Its not like PT in the Air Force is all that demanding if you’re in reasonable shape and relatively young. Tough it out man. You even get lowered grooming standards than the other services…and since you’re enlisted you’ll never have to worry about piloting a warplane to a fiery conclusion…just hang in there and you’ll be fine. You signed up for it, you had time to think about it…deal with it. Your three or four years will be up before you know it and you will likely be grateful for the experience as a result.
Don’t look for some bullshit way out. That’s lame.
We prefer that real-life situations which involve legal questions go to IMHO, rather than General Questions. That way, opinions may be offered. Moved.
samclem, Moderator
Suck it up, Airman (talking to the OP, not Doors). You made it through basic and tech school, you can make it through the rest of your hitch. Given that military budget cuts are likely in the next few years, you may have an opportunity to get out via RIF (Reduction in Force) before your enlistment contract would expire. Save some money, take advantage of the Community College of the Air Force to pick up an AA degree in your spare time, and figure out what you want to do when you do get out.
Whatever you do, do not do something stupid…like intentionally fail PT, get yourself on the “fat boy” program, or get involved with drugs. Those things have consequences that will make your life suck way more than you think it does now.
Welcome to life with a job.
Yeah, this. Seriously? Not bagging on the Air Force, but you should be able to hack it, even if you don’t really dig your job. In the meanwhile, look at the bright side: you won’t get fired, you have a place to sleep and stuff to eat, and when you leave you get some pretty decent bennies.