Seperation code jfy (adjustment disorder) can I still be an officer?

[BEE1997]

I was HONORABLY discharged from the coast guard after only 8 months of service. The reason was “adjustment disorder” in reality, there was some shady stuff going on with my command and they weren’t allowing me to go to A-school. I complained to the chaplain, my command asked if I even wanted to be in the military, I said HELL NO after the last 6 months of being a mess cook, working 16 hour shifts while the rest of the crew worked 8 max. There excuse was all non rates mess cook but all the non rates on that boat mess cooked for a maximum of 1 month (the rule is non-rates are only allowed to messcook for 2 weeks because it’s so ****ty) next thing I know I’m being discharged. Anyways, how bad is that discharge code? Will it prevent me from being a police officer? I live in California and have a nursing degree by the way.

Ps. I joined the coast guard to serve my country and save lives, I ended up stuck on an island doing dishes for 16 hours a day, never seeing the sun, and forced to stand in a silver box from the time I woke up till the time I went to bed.

[just joe]

Most of your post is just you venting your side of the story, so it doesn't mean anything. We are more concerned with your type of discharge rather than your discharge code.

[BEE1997]

Thanks for the reply. And yeah I am venting, even though I’m sure there’s thousands of guys who had it far worse than I did.

[CCCSD]

It takes more than just a “feeling” to get an Adjustment Disorder discharge. You DONT get to immediately go to A School, there are waits up to two years. You were placed in a billet that needed a non-rate and you got upset that you couldn’t do what YOU wanted. And yes, your CO HAS the authority to delay or cancel A School if you don’t meet the criteria or show good service.

You jumped the CoC and cried to the Chaplain, thinking he had the power to amend orders and bump you on the list.

You didn’t spend “16 hours in a silver box”. I’m sure your LPO and Chief have a completely different, and truer, version.

You then grabbed at the chance to run away, thereby proving that you have issues with Authority, can’t follow rules or structure, and don’t get along with others.

Lose the “poor me, I’m entitled “ attitude unless you want to flip burgers for the rest of your life. You do have that skill set now, courtesy of Uncle Sam and the USCG...

[BEE1997]

I ABSOLUTELY spent 16 hours in a silver box. Sometimes I got to throw the trash, which was a delight. And your damn right, when the opportunity came to get out I jumped on it. There’s something called self respect, I’m not gonna spend a second doing something that isn’t making me a better person. Doing mind numbing bovine tasks does not do a damn thing for the country or me. So save the “your entitled speech” because you’d have to have an iq as low as yours to not take the opportunity I was given.

[KJB]

It's IQ not iq, kind of ironic when people try to insult other's intelligence but screw up a two letter word.

[BEE1997]

It’s not a 2 letter word it’s an abbreviation of 2 words. Kind of ironic when people try to use a small grammatical error to indicate intelligence yet fail to understand the grammatical error they poin out.

[Rudy8116]

Ok, how about not knowing the correct use of "Their", "There", and They're"? Can we use that example instead of "iq"?

[reils49]

I was HONORABLY discharged from the coast guard after only 8 months of service. The reason was “adjustment disorder” in reality, there was some shady stuff going on with my command and they weren’t allowing me to go to A-school. I complained to the chaplain, my command asked if I even wanted to be in the military, I said HELL NO after the last 6 months of being a mess cook, working 16 hour shifts while the rest of the crew worked 8 max. There excuse was all non rates mess cook but all the non rates on that boat mess cooked for a maximum of 1 month (the rule is non-rates are only allowed to messcook for 2 weeks because it’s so ****ty) next thing I know I’m being discharged. Anyways, how bad is that discharge code? Will it prevent me from being a police officer? I live in California and have a nursing degree by the way.

Ps. I joined the coast guard to serve my country and save lives, I ended up stuck on an island doing dishes for 16 hours a day, never seeing the sun, and forced to stand in a silver box from the time I woke up till the time I went to bed.

Stick with nursing. It’s a good career.

[CCCSD]

It’s called DEVELOPING you as a member. So you just quit when things don’t go YOUR way.

Says MUCH about you and your integrity...which you seem to lack.

Anyone who who has actually served, knows this. You missed the point.

[BEE1997]

Look, call it what you want. In life you have got to be tactical and smart with your decision making. Doesn’t sound very smart to do dishes for 16 hours a day when I could be going to school full time or doing something to better myself. I’m on a strict time line, the cop thing is like plan D. It’s just nice to have back up plans. I posed a question, you failed to answer, now go away.

[Rudy8116]

If the "cop thing" is Plan D, then you don't really want it. Furthermore, this is Ask a Cop, not Debate a Cop. You don't like our answers, then YOU go away.

[Zeitgeist]

Keep in mind I've been out of the Army for a long time. You won't know if you don't try. Depts that I've seen require an Honorable Discharge. I don't know if they look at the re enlistment code. Can you present a DD-214 that says Honorable Discharge?
Adjustment disorder sounds like what the Army used to call 'Failure to Adapt.' Just my thoughts Could it be considered a 'trainee discharge?'
Nursing is highly profitable and offers endless areas to work in, are you sure you want to police? It's not the great job it once was.
Either way good luck.

[BEE1997]

thanks for the response, it’s an honorable discharge the special code attached is where the problem lies. I’m just kind of curious about being a police officer after seeing some insanely high salaries of some departments

[J2H]

It sounds like ELS, but honorable is honorable (to most eyes)... the RE code is normally for reentry, mine is "eligible but not selected for re-enlistment" and "involuntary separation"

[MPD80]

I would stick to nursing as well, especially in California, where politicians are trying to destroy police officers authority. You referenced "mind numbing, bovine tasks." Keep in mind the stuff you see on Cops is about 5-10% of what police work actually is, the rest can be incredibly boring. A police department may not want to take a chance on you if they think you will leave when things go bad or you are bored.

[BEE1997]

Thanks for the response and advice! It’s appreciated.

[ThinBlue404]

Wow, did you really just say the “Cop Thing” is Plan D? So you came to a law enforcement page to ask law enforcement professionals their opinion, then try to hurl insults when you get one? We already have the job and don’t need your confirmation. Sounds like you need to do some serious self-reflecting. The “cop thing” will likely never workout for you, but it won’t be because of your discharge. It will be because of your character. “When people show you their true colors, believe them.” You showed your true colors to USCG and they cut bait. Rightfully so apparently. From what you have shown here, you don’t have the attitude to make it through the hiring process, the academy, and work with the general public. But don’t worry, it’s just Plan D, so you’re good.

[BEE1997]

Hahahahahaha Don’t be such a daisy man

[ThinBlue404]

Ha! Says the guy who couldn’t hack it in the Coast Guard!! You’re the guy that somehow gets hired then quits in the academy or FTO because you didn’t know you were going to have to work weekends, holidays, and midnights.

[Bing_Oh]

ThinBlue404 is right. You seem to lack the proper mindset for law enforcement. This isn't a career that you get into because Plans A, B, and C didn't work out...this is a career that you either want to do with all your soul, or you don't cut it. A factory job is a backup plan, not LE.

As for the mind-numbingly boring stuff you didn't like in the Coast Guard, you better get used to it if you ever do get into LE. For every fun and exciting call, there are dozens of boring crap calls to take. And for every one of them, you get to spend time sitting in front of a computer writing reports (the more exciting the call, the more paperwork it creates). And the new guy always get the crap calls...you don't get to be SWAT, drug investigator, detective, CSI, or whatever else you aspire to right out of the academy (or ever, despite what TV and movies tell you...specialized assignments are high-demand).

[Zeitgeist]

If it's dollars you're looking for, the agencies that pay high salaries are usually in places where the cost of living is very high. Nursing pays well if you get into the travelling aspect, a specialty such as OR nurse, nurse anesthetist etc. I have a BS in Medical Lab Technology and worked in the field for a decade. I had FAR less options than an RN. If you get burned out in one area, there are a zillion other areas of Nursing you can go to.

A Nurse can truly help more people than a police in this society.

The Army gave me a Phd in how to take s@#t. And I can wash windows like a pro. (use newspaper)

[CCCSD]

I would hope that OP doesn’t land a nursing gig where responsibly is required...maybe like a school nurse or something. His judgement and maturity are lacking.

Might be he wants to stock up on peanut butter...

Shinebox out!

[1RidgeRunner7]

I have a feeling if this guy makes it through an academy, his fellow candidates are going to be cut up like a bag of dope by the end.

[careerchange#2]

Can't speak for other agencies, but ours we require a point of contact at the units you served with and we make phone calls. A discharge code is just one piece of the puzzle. Having done this, yes it requires making calls all hours of the day/night to track down a supervisor/NCO/prior CO based around the world but I've yet to hear any of them complain when they learn we are really indepth with our backgrounds.

Now, to your specific case, without hearing your LPO/supervisors version of events, there are some huge red flags and issues. First and foremost, everywhere you go there is a clause known as the "for the good of the agency/department" clause. What this means is that as long as it doesn't breach a contract (if one exists) you can be placed wherever the department needs you, regardless of what YOU want. You want high crime/high drug? Well, a connected politician wants foot patrol in/near his office. Guess where the new guy goes?

Policing is very much like the military in that initially you get little to know say where you go and when you work. You may find yourself at the same assignment for years due to needs of the agency. Even crazier, specialized units and even some shifts get to pick and choose who they want, so complaining/whining/bitching can and does get people black listed.

In our world it's all about paying your dues, not necessarily what you want. I didn't want midnights for half my career but guess what? That's where the need was so I went and cleaned up on DUI's and traffic arrests, didn't bitch and moan or jump chain of command and when the time came a spot opened in a better assignment the word of mouth was "yea he's good police" and I got my golden ticket.

[RaspiestShrimp]

I'm just gonna come out and say it: if you found yourself cranking (mess duty) on this ****ty of a schedule, you did it to yourself. I have seen it happen to some of our newer guys with ****-poor attitudes on deployment (still active duty). Your attitude toward other posters here pretty much verifies that, for sure. If you managed to talk yourself into such a mess in that short-of-a-time with the Coast Guard (lol), perhaps law enforcement is not for you.

Furthermore, if an agency notices that your discharge code is a Failure to Adapt rating, I would imagine they would act like they never saw your application. YMMV, however.

[Jordon198]

I ALWAYS look at the separation code, and ask the applicants side of the story. You answer would guarantee my recommendation of No, not now, or ever.

Had you related that you allowed your immaturity to derail your USCG opportunity, I would have been willing to listen and let you convince me that you would not quit the first time you had to do something you didn't like.