A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.
Typically, an honorable discharge is given when a servicemember meets one or more of several requirements.
A medical discharge is given when the service member has a medical condition that makes them unfit for military service. This may be an injury sustained in combat.
A less than honorable discharge refers to a discharge that occurs under other than honorable conditions. This can be due to generally improper conduct, conviction of a crime either in a military court martial or a civilian court, or some other inappropriate action on the part of a soldier or someone associated with that soldier.
The United States military subdivides less-than-honorable discharges into four categories, in increasing order of severity:
Undesirable discharges or worse typically disqualify the soldier from receiving veterans' benefits, and any less-than-honorable discharge --- even a general discharge --- usually renders the discharged soldier ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits, because such a discharge is considered tantamount to having been "fired" from the most recently-held job.
In addition, those given dishonorable discharges may permanently forfeit certain citizenship rights, including the right to legally possess a firearm (under the federal Gun Control Act passed in 1968), and the right to vote in some states.
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