Do you go to jail if you quit the Marines?

Answer 1

It depends.

There are several ways out of your enlistment contract.

For regular enlisted:

• You can deros - your enlistment is up and you simply leave the service to return to the civilian world. By far, this is the most common exit from military service.
• You can get a Section 8 Medical/Psychological discharge - With Iraq and Afghanistan and the huge number of injuries both wars have brought, this is becoming more common. Either the service member is not able to perform his duties, is undeployable, or it is considered for the good of the service.
• Dishonorable Discharge - This is typically done for the good of the service, or the SMs inability to adapt, and often results from Courts Marshall or Article 15 proceedings. Typically, this results from criminal activity and conviction of the SM.
• General Discharge - Issued as Under Honorable or Under Dishonorable Conditions. This typically results from Article 15 proceedings, but not typically as a result of criminal actions perpetrated by the SM. The Trainee Discharge Program (if still in place) is a good example of how this has been used.
• One last, slightly rare form of discharge is the Hardship Discharge - A Hardship Discharge is often granted to SMs who have difficult personal and/or family situations that require the immediate attention of the SM such as family deaths, prolonged family illnesses, etc.