Most veterans know of guys we called "screw ups" who were honorably discharged just to get rid of them. It was easier than the time and paperwork involved to bring them up on charges and have them discharged as "other than honorable" or "dishonorable".Is an Honorable Discharge "proof" of honorable service?
Not necessarily.
Convicted D.C. sniper and serial killer John Muhammad served in the Louisiana National Guard from 1978 to 1985. He was twice court-martialed, once for striking an officer, another time for stealing. He was AWOL and spent time in the jail.
Muhammad left the National Guard with an honorable discharge. http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher152.html And even from the somewhat out-of-control Michelle Malkin:John Muhammad. The accused Beltway sniper and Muslim convert was a member of the Army's 84th Engineering Company. Muhammad is suspected of throwing a thermite grenade into a tent housing 16 of his fellow soldiers as they slept before the ground-attack phase of Gulf War I in 1991. Muhammad's superior, Sgt. Kip Berentson, told both Newsweek and The Seattle Times that he immediately suspected Muhammad, who was "trouble from day one."
Curiously, Muhammad was admitted to the Army despite being earlier court-martialed for willfully disobeying orders, striking another noncommissioned officer, wrongfully taking property, and being absent without leave while serving in the Louisiana National Guard.
Although Muhammad was led away in handcuffs and transferred to another company pending charges for the grenade attack, an indictment never materialized.
Muhammad was honorably discharged from the Army in 1994. Eight years later, he was arrested in the 21-day Beltway shooting spree that left 10 dead and three wounded.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/mm20030326.shtmlWOW! This guy got TWO Honorable Discharges. This makes him twice as good as W*?:shrug: