Reasons for chaptering out

Another post from army court martial defense and a post from the military wallet describe the reasons a soldier can be chaptered out for misconduct and a soldiers rights, which can change based on how long a soldier has been in the military.

These do no include special circumstances or medical discharges.

One can be chaptered out of the army under honorable, under honorable conditions, or general discharge for these reasons:

1) Conviction by a Civil Court
2) Pattern of Minor Military Disciplinary Infractions
3) Pattern of Military or Civil Misconduct
4) Commission of a Serious Offence

Honorable Discharge gets a soldier all benefits. These soldiers have had good or excellent ratings for their service and have exceeded expectations.

General Discharge is the most common form of discharge, and is reflective of satisfactory performance. The individual however did not meet all expectations of conduct, and received non judicial punishment or reprimands for his or her conduct.

Some benefits may be lost in a General Discharge, but for the most part these two military separations are administrative discharges, and the soldiers usually receive full benefits.

Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge is the most severe form of administrative discharge. Examples are given that include "security violations,  use of violence, conviction by a civilian court with a sentence including prison time, or being found guilty of adultery in a divorce hearing". This form of discharge usually does not include veterans benefits and you cannot re-enlist in the armed forces or army reserve. _________________________________________________________________________________
The remaining discharges are Bad Conduct Discharges, Dishonorable Discharge, Officer Discharge, And Entry Level Separation.

Bad Conduct and Dishonorable Discharge forfeit almost all veterans benefits, and differ in scope of conduct. Dishonorable is reserved for the worst offences, like sexual assault and murder. A soldier with Dishonorable Discharge cannot own guns in the U.S. These discharges may be preceded by time in military prison.

The next two are copied straight from the military wallet site, in quotations.

Officer Discharge
"Commissioned officers cannot receive bad conduct discharges or a dishonorable discharge, nor can they be reduced in rank by a court-martial. If an officer is discharged by a general court-martial, they receive a Dismissal notice which is the same as a dishonorable discharge."

Entry Level Separation (ELS)

"If an individual leaves the military before completing at least 180 days of service, they receive an entry level separation status.  This type of military discharge can happen for a variety of reasons (medical, administrative, etc.) and is neither good or bad, though in many cases, service of less than 180 may prevent some people from being classified as a veteran for state and federal military benefits." 

The rest of the articles describe ways to apply to have your discharge upgraded and the appeal process.