Delayed Enlistment Program
The Delayed Enlistment Program is an enlistment in the Inactive Reserves. Most people who enlist on active duty enlist first in the DEP while waiting to ship out to basic training.
Anyone can request a discharge from the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP), and it is current Department of Defense (DOD) policy that such requests should be approved. You may have listen to your recruiter and his/her bosses trying to change your mind, but -- if you stick to your guns -- you will ultimately be discharged from the DEP. For details, see my DEP article.
So, you ask, I signed the same contract and took the same oath when I entered the DEP, but anyone can request to be discharged from that program, but not active duty. What's up with that? The difference is that it is current DOD POLICY to approve DEP discharge requests. The military doesn't have to do so, if they don't want to. The services do not let people out of active duty so easily. Once a person has gone onto active duty, the military services have invested a considerable amount of time and money in their processing, pay, uniforms, transportation, and training. They want enough time to earn their investment back.
- Getting Out
- Service Commitments
- Entry Level Separations & Discharge Characterizations
- Breach of Contract
- Getting Kicked Out
- Homosexuality
- Hardship
- Pregnancy
- Sole Surviving Son or Daughter
- Early Separation to Further Education
- Early Release to Serve in the Guard or Reserves
- Convenience of the Government
- Conscientious Objectors
