Enlisted Personnel Discharge and Release from Active Duty (Other than at Separation Centers) - TM 12-235 War Department Technical Manual

1. For a long time there has been a lack of uniform procedure in discharging or releasing personnel from active duty. Too many times the importance of making the transition from military life to civilian life as smooth a procedure as possible has been overlooked. The change is a hard one — equally as difficult as the initial experience when men and women are first inducted or enlisted in the service.

2. In recognition of this problem, an attempt has been made to cut out the "red tape" in discharge procedures and substitute a working system which may be adopted throughout the Army. The aim is to foster a method which will cover the requirements of permanent recording of service and at the same time aid service men and women in the difficulties of readjustment to the responsibilities of civilian life.

3. The basic purpose of this manual is:

a. To simplify the primary procedures in discharge or separation from active service.

b. To clarify the procedure for discharge on certificate of disability under AR 615-361, and to develop a standard method of effecting such discharge after maximum military hospitalization has been obtained.

c. To clarify the various procedures for transmittal of necessary records to the Veterans Administration in order to effect prompt adjudication of claims, and to expedite the transfer and subsequent discharge of patients sent to Veterans Administration Facilities.

d. To reduce to a minimum the time and effort required to process men who are being separated from active service, in order to make available hospital beds and other facilities, after necessary dare.

4. Changes to this manual will be supplied on a page basis, and will be published as required. As change pages are received they will be inserted in their proper place, and the replaced pages destroyed.

5. Each page of the manual bears a date in its upper inside corner. This date is the date of the publication. Pages which represent changes will carry the date and number of the change.

6. Pages are numbered consecutively throughout the book. If new pages are added within the book the added pages will carry alphabetical suffixes — A, B, C, and so on. For example, if a new page is added between 35 and 36, the page will be numbered 35-A. A second additional page in the same place would be numbered 35-B, and so on.

7. The procedures set forth herein have been developed and tested extensively in the field. In many cases they represent major changes in existing methods. The procedures and forms in this manual will be placed in effect immediately at all installations effecting discharge or release from active service. No deviation in forms, procedures, or requirements is authorized without prior approval of the War Department unless specifically noted otherwise in this manual.

8. The procedure charts in this manual illustrate graphically the flow of each document and the action taken on each copy throughout the process. The rectangular blocks represent the forms and the number of copies prepared. The shaded portion inside the lower right hand corner of a block indicates that the document was originated by the organization unit shown in the column heading above, example: J. The numbers appearing in the blocks reflecting the copy numbers do not necessarily appear on the forms, but are intended to be used as a guide in following the flow of a document.

9. Forms not bearing a WD AGO or VA number may be reproduced locally.

10. Recommendations for change or improvement in forms or procedures should be transmitted through channels to the Control Division, Army Service Forces, The Pentagon, Washington 25, D. C.

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