Section 8 (military)
The term Section 8 refers to a category of discharge from the United States military when judged mentally unfit for service. It also came to mean any serviceperson given such a discharge or behaving as if deserving such a discharge, as in the expression "He's a Section 8". The term comes from Section VIII of the World War II-era United States Army Regulation 615-360, which provided for the discharge of those deemed unfit for military service.[1]
In the 1950s, a Section 8 discharge was commonly given to a service member found guilty of "sexual perversion." As a form of undesirable discharge, it deprived the person so discharged of veteran's benefits but did not result in the loss of any citizenship rights.[citation needed]
Discharge under Section 8 is no longer practiced, as medical discharges for psychological/psychiatric reasons are now covered by a number of regulations. In the Army, such discharges are handled under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations. Chapter 5, paragraph 13 governs the separation of personnel medically diagnosed with a personality disorder.[2]
The meaning of Section 8 was later popularized when used in the 1970s TV series M*A*S*H, in which the character Corporal Klinger was constantly seeking one.[3]
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[edit] References
- ^ "Office of Medical History - Neuropsychiatry in WWII, Chapter 16" (HTML). United States Department of the Army. 1963. http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/NeuropsychiatryinWWIIVolI/chapter16.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
- ^ "Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations" (PDF). United States Department of the Army. 2005-06-05. http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r635_200.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- ^ "M*A*S*H Episode Guide - Radar's Report" (HTML). The editors of TV.com. 1973-09-02. http://www.tv.com/mash/radars-report/episode/43226/summary.html. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
