Backdoor Exits from the U.S. Military

By Bac

This article in no way supports using these methods and is only written for informative purposes.  If you sign up, you should stick it out like a good serviceperson.

These observations were done when I was exiting the USAF during my Basic Military Training (BMT) segment.  From what I can tell the system is set up to bounce back people who are questionable once they enter into the service.

So you are going into the military.  Be sure to have long talks with your recruiter, ask lots of questions, and make sure you can quote questionable remarks or what may be blatant lies verbatim.  That is the first thing you can do to protect yourself from what could possibly happen.

In fact, everyone who leaves within the first 180 days of service is granted an "Entry Level Separation," be it for good reason, bad reason, or ugly reason.  So the scare tactics they use to keep you in line are in fact not quite as valid as stated.  (You know the good ole UCMJ.)  That does not fully apply until after your first 180 days of training.

Most of the way the exit process works is very compartmentalized.  Each person at a desk knows little to nothing about the other links from the people in your own wing, to the BAS, to the processing folk, to the docs and other assorted people.  Some are enlisted, some are civilians, and some are officers.  Not one person has all the answers.  All of this I had to learn from experience with all the various people involved in this process.

The intent of all the processes is to deter people from leaving.  The military is having major issues with retention so every effort is made to return recruits to training.

Also, some of the information that I received is rumor.  Here is my attempt to separate fact from fiction on the subject of exiting:

1.)  Your recruiter cannot lie to a superior in regards to direct questioning about a statement.

2.)  The service will do whatever it can to stick you with the bill and not pay you, such as if you come clean about a medical history issue, even if your recruiter told you to lie.  (This is where being able to quote questionable remarks verbatim is important.)  They will most likely stick you with the bill and send you home with some of your gear, and may in fact charge you.

3.)  They will send you back to your point of entry or your home of record.

4.)  They will spend about two weeks processing your file in regards to exit.  Once you try to leave it's not all easy.  It is still military protocol and even if you have a complete breakdown, it's no walk in the park.  They may lock you up in the mental ward at the hospital.

5.)  If you try and get hurt or don t drink enough water (heatstroke), they will just send you to get patched up and returned to training.

6.)  The easiest way to get isolated from your group of recruits and speed up the exit process is to claim self harm or a desire to harm others.  Homosexuality has to be attempted in practice, not statement, in order to get removed from basic.  Also, if you harm others I know nothing of the process that they would use to isolate you, but I presume they would keep you heavily medicated.

7.)  Your medical history that you suppressed at Military Entry Processing Station (MEPS) will probably come back to haunt you if you try to use that to leave.  Simply put, the blame will be placed upon you and your pay will be revoked, or they will say you are claiming false diseases and return you to training.

8.)  This one is quite surprising.  Going Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from BMT may only get you an orange vest if you return willingly, along with a required service of 40 days with the rest of the rejects, and forfeiture of pay.  But you still get an "Entry Level Separation."

9.)  If you use illegal drugs, even if you pass the test at MEPS, they will test you for traces and kick you out when they have the results back, even if you are a week from graduation from basic.

10.)  You can exit cleanly if you keep your ears open and realize that the system is not as stacked against you as you might think, and that the exit routine is easy to access.

This is entirely for informative purposes only.

It's intended for use in case the draft is reinstated, or if you really make a major mistake by joining.