January 6th Related

Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of those leaving military service after completing an initial enlistment are separated rather than discharged. The key difference lies in that a discharge completely alleviates the veteran of any unfulfilled military service obligation, whereas a separation (which may be voluntary or involuntary) may leave an additional unfulfilled military service obligation (MSO) to be carried out in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Discharges can be honorable, other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable.

According to VetVerify, a shared verification service of the four military exchanges (AAFES, NEXCOM, MCX and CGX) “an Other Than Honorable “OTH” is the most severe form of administrative discharge. This type of discharge represents a serious departure from the conduct and performance expected of all military members. OTH discharges are typically given to service members convicted by a civilian court in which a sentence of confinement has been adjudged or in which the conduct leading to the conviction brings discredit upon the service. It can also be given as the result of certain civil hearings, like a divorce for adultery. OTH discharges can be accepted in-lieu of court-martial proceedings at the service-member’s request. Persons facing OTH are guaranteed, by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the right to have their discharge heard by an administrative discharge board, which is similar to a courtmartial but is not a public forum. Recipients of OTH discharges are barred from reenlisting into any component of the Armed Forces (including the reserves), and are normally barred from joining the Army National Guard or Air National Guard, except under rare circumstances that require exception-to-policy waivers. As of September 2006, all 50 states had policies barring the reenlistment of UOTHC discharge recipients.”

In July 2020, a group of people referring to themselves as disabled veterans, stood in front of Antifa and Black Lives Matter protestors to form a “Wall of Vets” . Holding signs supporting BLM, the veterans covered for Antifa and BLM as threw fireworks towards the Portland, OR Hatfield federal courthouse. Charges of assaults on law enforcement officers, destruction of property, looting, arson, and vandalism were issued. Despite the military member’s involvement, there was no report of military members being discharged or discharged with an “other than honorable” status.

In contrast, on January 6th, veterans and military members also held signs and marched towards the U.S. Capitol. Ex-Army Ranger Robert Morss was charged with assaulting a police officer (just like Antifa in Portland in July 2020) and quickly was dishonorably discharged. It isn’t clear if the dishonorable discharge process for January 6th protestors in the American military is due to the “stand down” enacted by Defense Secretary Austin in 2021: Austin Orders Military Stand Down to Address Challenge of Extremism in the Ranks reported by the U.S. Department of Defense. The stand down does not refer to BLM or Antifa participation. Instead, Defense Secretary Austin and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with service civilian leaders and service chiefs to discuss the problem of extremism. Kirby noted that some of the extremists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 were active duty service members and others were military veterans. No report was issued on Antifa or BLM participation in 2020.