Should I mention I was in the army with other then honorable discharge?

I asked my son-in-law about this. What he said, at least in the US Army, was that it depended on the Garrison Commander. Most of the time, the shipper has already made it clear that the driver has to be able to pass a background check. However, in a pinch, at the discretion of the Officer/NCO in charge, they can also have an MP escort the driver. This is what ports do if a driver lacks a TWIC.

When I hung up, I shook my head because what he just told me was that the DoD does not have a standard policy.

 

Yep , i know Kirtland , Whitesands and Cannon AF bases have them here in NM .
I deliver fuel to all three once in a while

 

Thanks Chinatown. To answer the OP's question, as already mentioned in this thread if there is a direct question do not lie about serving in the military. Lies on your application are grounds for termination when discovered, and in the event of a serious crash a Plaintiff attorney will tear your application and background apart.

Your military experience is not as important as it may seem unless you are applying to a company that actively recruits vets, otherwise most civilian employers do not give direct experience for military truck driving the same way they would for time driving for other trucking companies, so it will not be a big boost to your recruiting chances. As for it showing up on a background check, some employers do use third parties to check the information submitted against public records, so it is important to not lie about being in the military as it may show up.

As for the reason you were discharged, military driving is not US DOT regulated so the weed is not a failure of a US DOT drug test, which is a good thing in your case, because it means you are not automatically disqualified. Unless asked a direct question surrounding your discharge do not volunteer anything.

As already mentioned in this thread, the only hassle I see for you in the future is if you end up doing work that requires access to military bases, as their security screening may alert on your discharge and prevent you from having access or at a minimum require you to have an escort. I do not believe it will pose a problem for you to obtain a hazardous materials endorsement if you choose to go that route.

 

TSA HazMat check doesn't care about even dishonorable discharge, so OP is good to go. TSA HazMat doesn't care about any and all drug use, just drug or weapons trafficking/smuggling in the list of temp & permanent disqualifications.

 

This is not 100% accurate. Yes, indeed, the TSA is not looking at military discharges; however, Dishonorable and Bad Conduct Discharges are more than just a discharge. They result from a Military Court-martial and can ONLY be part of the recommended sentence after a guilty verdict is reached. As I said in my first comment, a DD is considered a felony conviction. Generally, you suffer the loss of civil rights. You can't own a firearm. Etc.

Now let's get the the meat of the issue. If the person with a DD was convicted at a Court-martial of an offense that was a disqualifying offense, and the TSA finds it, they will not allow that person to hold a TWIC or have Haz-mat. And YES, the TSA will find the conviction because at some point after the GCM is over, the service will report the conviction to the NCIC.

Now, back to the Other than honorable discharge. This is NOT a conviction. It simply is a type of administrative discharge that, unfortunately, strips the person of almost all rights afforded to honorably discharged veterans.

One last point. Not all DD-214s are the same. I was discharged in 1980 from the USAF, and my DD-214 was used starting in July 1979. This 214 does not list my type of discharge on all pages. There is a separate section at the bottom where it clearly says Honorable Discharge and my reenlistment code. I do not know about 214s used before the 1 July 1979 form and 214s used later. If the OP's 214 is like mine, he can edit that bottom part off and supply the 214 to any employer that will show what job they did, how long in, and last station. Just beware, all 214s will list the duration time of the current enlistment. A sharp-eyed person might catch less than 4 years.

 

That booze and drink glasses brought back some good memories. What you think!

 

looked cool!!