For the typical military enlisted service member there are 4 things on their DD 214 of interest:
1) Basis for Discharge (words): Misconduct Drug Abuse
2) Basis for Discharge (letter code): JKK3) Characterization of Service: General, Under Honorable Conditions
4) RE Code (Reentry/Reenlistment Eligibility Code):
- you did not list, however, I expect it is RE-4.
As you know, you were processed for administrative separation from the military before your scheduled expiration of service due to misconduct, drug abuse. Most commonly, that comes up from a urinalysis test (but it could come up in a number of ways). The General Under Honorable Conditions is your characterization of service. There are 5 characterized discharges, 2 punitive and 3 administrative:
Punitive:
Dishonorable Discharge (DD): (For an officer this would be a Dismissal) - can only be awarded from a General Court-Martial
Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD): From either a General Court-Martial or a Special Court-Martial;
Administrative:
Honorable: the best
General, Under Honorable Conditions: Service was acceptable, but not at the level for an Honorable;
Other Than Honorable (OTH): Considered to be comparable to a BCD from a court-martial. Service was not acceptable.
When it comes to benefits, an Honorable Discharge means the person is entitle to all their benefits based upon character of service (there may still be some things that the person does not qualify for because of not having served the minimum period, but otherwise the person is entitled to all benefits).
A General discharge qualifies the person for most benefits; and OTH/BCD/DD the individual gets almost NO benefits.But, the list of potential benefits is long and the qualifications for each vary, generally by specific statute or regulation.
If you are trying to get a loan from the VA (I presume a home loan) and the VA is saying you do not qualify based upon a General Discharge, then you need to ask the VA to show you specifically what/why you have been determined ineligible. There are often appeal processes (you may or may not win), but you need to ask exactly what the reasons for their decision are.
