Military Discharge: Actions Needed to Help Ensure Consistent and Timely Upgrade Decisions

Fast Facts

Without an honorable discharge, military veterans may have trouble getting jobs and accessing valuable educational and medical benefits. If veterans believe there was an error or injustice in the process, they can apply to have a DOD board consider whether to upgrade their discharge.

The boards have guidance on how to consider cases in which a veteran may have a mental health condition or experienced sexual harassment or assault that led to their discharge. However, boards have inconsistently applied this guidance. They’ve also inconsistently explained their decisions to veterans.

Our recommendations address these issues and more.

Highlights

What GAO Found

Service members separated from the military without an honorable discharge can apply to a post-separation review board for a possible discharge upgrade due to a potential error or injustice in the process. In 2014 and 2017, the Department of Defense (DOD) directed these boards to give “liberal consideration” to applications from veterans with a qualifying mental health condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or an experience of sexual harassment or sexual assault connected to their service. DODs' post-separation review boards have implemented liberal consideration and, from January 2018 through March 2024, applied it to more than 21,000 discharge upgrade cases. The rates of discharge upgrades granted ranged from 18 to 49 percent among the boards.

Army boards

Navy boards

Air Force boards

Total

Total closed

10,237

9,941

1,639

21,817

Source: GAO analysis of post-separation review board data. I GAO-25-107354

However, in reviewing the boards' adjudication of these cases, GAO identified the following challenges:

• Use of guidance. Boards inconsistently applied key liberal consideration guidance related to the use of (1) Department of Veterans Affairs documentation connecting a veteran's mental health condition to their military service; and (2) applicant testimony about an experience of sexual harassment or sexual assault during military service. An evaluation and periodic monitoring of how each board applies liberal consideration guidance could help ensure consistent treatment among veterans.
• Adjudication time frames. Some boards are required to adjudicate discharge upgrade cases within a specified time frame, while other boards are not. Required time frames for all boards will help ensure work is organized to efficiently achieve objectives and provide applicants—who may have critical financial and health challenges—a more predictable timeline for an already lengthy adjudication process.
• Communicating decisions. Boards inconsistently explained in their decisional documents how they applied key liberal consideration guidance in discharge upgrade cases. Requiring that boards communicate a comparable level of information about how they used this guidance will provide applicants with a more precise understanding of how the board reached its decision of whether to grant an upgrade.
• Availability of case information. DOD is generally required to post documentation of discharge upgrade decisions on its online reading room. However, GAO found that about 43 percent of documents on liberal consideration cases closed from January 2018 through March 2024 that should have been posted are missing from the reading room and posted documents are not organized in a user-friendly manner. A process that ensures all documents are posted and effectively organized will enable the reading room to serve its intended purpose.

Why GAO Did This Study

Service members separated from the military without an honorable discharge have limited access to veterans' benefits, including medical and educational benefits. They may also find it difficult to obtain employment. Some veterans may believe they suffered an error or injustice in the discharge process. These veterans may apply to have DOD—through its post-separation review boards—consider whether their discharge characterization should be upgraded.

Senate Report 118-58 includes a provision for GAO to review DOD's implementation of liberal consideration of veterans' discharge upgrade applications. This report assesses DOD's (1) application of key guidance; (2) timeliness in adjudicating cases; (3) communication of quality information; and (4) tracking and reporting of cases.

GAO analyzed data for cases closed from January 2018 through March 2024—the most recent available data; conducted a generalizable sample of board decisions; reviewed guidance and other documentation; and interviewed DOD officials.

Recommendations

GAO is making nine recommendations, including that DOD assess application of key guidance, require communication of current estimates for adjudication time frames, and ensure the online reading room is user-friendly. DOD concurred with three recommendations, partially concurred with one, and did not concur with five, including those on communicating current estimates to applicants. GAO continues to believe that these recommendations are warranted, as discussed in the report.

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Recommendations

GAO is making nine recommendations, including that DOD assess application of key guidance, require communication of current estimates for adjudication time frames, and ensure the online reading room is user-friendly. DOD concurred with three recommendations, partially concurred with one, and did not concur with five, including those on communicating current estimates to applicants. GAO continues to believe that these recommendations are warranted, as discussed in the report.