Another Military Discharge Post.

[mcsap]

You would be CAREFULLY scrutinized if you even made it through the hiring process.

Written exam.
Physical agility.
Psychological exam.
Medical exam.
Background exam.

Every one of these steps crosses names off of our hiring lists.
So even if you made it through everything , your app would still contain those haunting words " unfit for military service". or " adjustment disorder".

Being a police officer gives a person great powers and authority. We simply cannot and will not take risks on someone who has a questionable background due to the simple fact that if you do something BAD , we will get SUED for a boatload of cash.

And we couldn't say we didn't know you had some " problems".

Your kind of like the person who has an arrest in your background. It may have been years ago but you still did it and you will be competing against MANY people who never had any such issues.

[retdetsgt]

They just thought I was mentally unfit for military service. They said I had "adjustment disorder."

Adjusting to the military can be difficult, but it's not that hard. And frankly, with today's all volunteer military they are more apt to tolerate a lot more than they used to. When I went through basic in 1964, they were a lot tougher on recruits than today and I think we had two guys in my platoon taken out for failure to adjust. I'm not saying you are, I don't know you, but I can say these two guys were losers from the start.

If you can't discipline yourself enough to get through basic training, I really doubt you are police material. Don't feel bad, a lot of people aren't. But as mcsap said, we are given a tremendous amount of authority to take peoples' freedom away and do things that will impact their lives forever. That's a hell of a lot of responsibility to put on anyone.

I know for a fact that my department would reject you right off the bat, I can't speak for the hundreds of others out there though. A problem you will face everywhere is the psychological testing too. If you don't have the personality for military service, it's highly doubtful a psychologist would think you are a good candidate for police work. You should look at another occupation.

[Steelers4Ever43]

Sweet. Looks like I'm going to become a teacher after all.

[Trip]

Cyclo, I have nothing to do with law enforcement, so I can't speak for what your future might be in that profession. But it seems like your course of action is a no-brainer. Go back, do your time and get an honorable discharge. I'd be willing to bet your current 214 is gonna haunt you in the future in ways you could never imagine. Most people are stuck with their less favorable 214s for life, but for people who have a chance to go fix such an important record... I would think that would be a no-brainer.

I'm trying to think of non-LEO examples of where your 214 might haunt you that you would never have anticipated. Ok, here's an example: when I bought my first house, they looked at my 214 when I got the VA loan. I don't know if you would get lesser terms for a VA loan because of your less than honorable discharge, but I'm trying to give you examples of how 214s follow people through life . Another example is clearances. Let's say you don't go the LEO route but try to get one of the many govt jobs here in DC, or anywhere around the US, that require clearances. I'm just saying - try to project ahead and think about how it might affect you.

Just my non-LEO 2cents Good luck~

[retdetsgt]

Sweet. Looks like I'm going to become a teacher after all.

In reality, you'll probably have more of an impact on society there than as a cop. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

[Cat_Doc]

We need good teachers.

[Safety Steve]

We need good teachers.

I will second that with an AMEN!



Be Safe.

[Excalibur]

I just wanted to reply here and give myself a little bit of redemption here. I spoke in a previous spoke about getting a ELS, uncharacterized discharge for fraudulent entry into military service but was fighting it. Well the powers that be at the Naval Discharge Review Board has reviewed my case and found that I did not lie to enter military service and was legitimately injured during training but since they do not have the power to change my discharge to medical they changed it to erroneous entry which doesn't leave as bad of a taste in department's mouth. In the paperwork it basically says applicant was injured and had we known he was going to get injured he would not have been able to enlist. Like I said since being discharged I have received my degree, graduated a pay to play academy as valedictorian (in deep process with a few departments, things looking good), and been accepted to the Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment and even been made a recruiter due to being a hard charger. Just wanted to sort of throw all this out there and let people know it can be done if in fact there is an error.

[1811_bound]

I just wanted to reply here and give myself a little bit of redemption here. I spoke in a previous spoke about getting a ELS, uncharacterized discharge for fraudulent entry into military service but was fighting it. Well the powers that be at the Naval Discharge Review Board has reviewed my case and found that I did not lie to enter military service and was legitimately injured during training but since they do not have the power to change my discharge to medical they changed it to erroneous entry which doesn't leave as bad of a taste in department's mouth. In the paperwork it basically says applicant was injured and had we known he was going to get injured he would not have been able to enlist. Like I said since being discharged I have received my degree, graduated a pay to play academy as valedictorian (in deep process with a few departments, things looking good), and been accepted to the Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment and even been made a recruiter due to being a hard charger. Just wanted to sort of throw all this out there and let people know it can be done if in fact there is an error.

So you are on your way. Best of luck and way to dig deep.