"Any person subject to this chapter who effects an enlistment or appointment in or a separation from the armed forces of any person who is known to him to be ineligible for that enlistment, appointment, or separation because it is prohibited by law, regulation, or order shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."
The Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM) lists the maximum punishment for this article as: dishonorable discharge, reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for 5 years.
However, when you get caught in your lies, if you think that dishonest recruiter (the one who told you to lie) is going to stand up and say, "Yes, I told him to lie, it's all my fault," then you'd better get your head examined. He/she is going to say, "Nope. He/she didn't tell me a thing about it!" You are the one who is going to suffer the consequences of your choice to commit a felony.
Let me say this again: A recruiter who encourages you to commit a felony offense in order to enlist in the military is not your friend. He/she could care less whether or not you are later discharged, tried by court-martial, given nonjudicial punishment, or lose your guaranteed job.
They'll Find Out
I've some recruiters say, "The recruiter's job is to get you in the military, and the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS)'s job is to disqualify you. They'll give you a 'scare speech' at MEPs, but don't pay any attention to it. As long as you don't tell them, there's no way they can find out."
ABSOLUTELY FALSE! MEPS' job is the same as the recruiter's job. It's to ensure that only qualified candidates enlist. The criminal background check and security clearance investigations can and do find sealed records. If anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying to you. If you get sick while in the military, and the medical professionals suspect it is a preexisting condition, the military will make every effort to track down previous civilian medical records. Again, if someone tells you that the military never checks into these matters, then they are not telling you the truth. If you lie about your previous drug use (even if there is no criminal record), and your military job/assignment (either now or a future assignment) requires a Top Secret clearance, the military CAN find out about it (see Security Clearance Secrets).
There is no RIGHT to serve in the armed forces of the United States. The military services have the absolute right to determine who is qualified and who is not qualified to serve. Individual recruiters are not authorized or qualified to make these determinations. Each of the service's have a waiver process whereby senior recruiting and medical officials can waive certain disqualifying medical or moral (legal) factors, depending upon the current needs of the service and the other qualifications of the applicant.
I should mention at this point that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a recruiter giving you instructions on how to answer questions at MEPs, as long as he/she is not encouraging you to be dishonest. MEPs can sometimes be very fussy when it comes to determining qualifications. If, for example, you say to your recruiter "I might have had asthma as a kid, but no doctor ever diagnosed it as asthma," then the recruiter is perfectly correct to instruct you that the correct answer to the question "Have you ever been diagnosed with asthma?" is "no." One should read the questions carefully, and answer them truthfully, but it's never a good idea to offer more information than what is actually asked.
