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Practice Area

Military Discharge Upgrades

The characterization on your DD-214 doesn't have to be permanent.

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Overview

About Discharge Upgrades

Each service operates its own Discharge Review Board, and the DRB is usually the first place a veteran turns for an upgrade. The Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB), the Navy Discharge Review Board (NDRB), which also handles Marine Corps discharges, and the Air Force Discharge Review Board (AFDRB) share the same statutory mandate: review the character of a discharge for both propriety (was it proper under the regulations in effect at the time) and equity (was it fair given everything the board sees now). DRB jurisdiction has two important limits: a DRB can review only discharges within 15 years of separation, and it cannot touch a discharge imposed by a general court-martial. Within those limits, the DRBs consider a wide range of grounds, including PTSD, TBI, Military Sexual Trauma, other behavioral health conditions, and separations tied to sexual orientation before the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, with recent Department of Defense policy (the Hagel, Kurta, and Wilkie Memos) directing liberal consideration for those claims. A veteran can request review on the written record alone or, more powerfully, at a personal appearance hearing before the board.

We build DRB petitions from the ground up: gathering the medical, behavioral health, and personnel records that support the claim, developing personal statements and buddy declarations, and filing the DD Form 293 with a full legal brief. When a personal appearance is warranted, we represent the veteran at the hearing. When the initial petition is denied, we handle reconsideration and pursue further remedies where available.

What’s at Stake

Restoration of VA benefits, removal of stigma, a new chapter after service.

  • Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility for you and your dependents
  • VA healthcare enrollment and disability compensation
  • VA home loan guaranty eligibility
  • Employment prospects tied to the characterization on your DD-214
  • Burial and survivor benefits for your family
  • The record your service leaves behind

Common Questions

Frequently Asked

How hard is it to get a discharge upgrade?
Harder than most veterans expect, but far from hopeless, and the odds have improved meaningfully in recent years. Discharge Review Boards review a discharge for both propriety, meaning whether it was correct under the regulations in effect at the time, and equity, meaning whether it was fair given everything the board can see now. Approval rates vary considerably by service, by the grounds raised, and by whether the veteran requests a personal appearance hearing rather than a review on the written record alone. Petitions grounded in PTSD, traumatic brain injury, Military Sexual Trauma, or other behavioral health conditions receive liberal consideration under current Department of Defense policy, which has changed outcomes substantially for veterans discharged before those conditions were widely recognized. The single largest factor within a veteran's control is the quality of the record submitted: medical documentation, service records, personal statements, and buddy declarations assembled into a coherent legal argument.
Is there a time limit on requesting a discharge upgrade?
The Discharge Review Board can review discharges only within 15 years of separation, and it cannot review a discharge imposed by a general court-martial. Neither limit closes the door. Veterans outside the 15-year window, and those with court-martial discharges, can petition the appropriate Board for Correction of Military Records instead. The BCMR has a nominal three-year filing deadline from discovery of the error, but that deadline is routinely waived in the interest of justice, and the board's authority is considerably broader than the DRB's. In practice, no veteran should assume too much time has passed to ask.
Can PTSD or Military Sexual Trauma be a basis for an upgrade?
Yes, and these are among the strongest grounds available. A series of Department of Defense policy memoranda, commonly referred to as the Hagel, Kurta, and Wilkie Memos, directs the review boards to give liberal consideration to petitions where PTSD, traumatic brain injury, Military Sexual Trauma, or other behavioral health conditions may have contributed to the misconduct underlying the discharge. This matters most for veterans separated in eras when these conditions were not diagnosed or documented, and it does not require that the condition have been formally diagnosed during service. A post-service diagnosis, or in some circumstances credible evidence of symptoms during service, can support the petition. Discharges connected to sexual orientation before the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell are treated under similar corrective policy.

Related

Other proceedings we handle.

Boards for Correction of Military Records

The highest administrative remedy for correcting errors and injustices in military records: discharge characterization, retirement points, adverse documents, awards, and rank.

Read the Overview

Veterans Disability Claims

Initial claims, rating decisions, supplemental claims, Higher-Level Reviews, and BVA appeals, represented by two former active-duty JAG attorneys.

Read the Overview

Separation Boards

Administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry (BOI), show cause boards, and medical separation proceedings (LDES/IDES): outcomes that determine your discharge characterization.

Read the Overview

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