Winston Obtains Honorable Discharge Upgrade for U.S. Navy Veteran

Winston & Strawn helped a U.S. Navy Veteran who was sexually assaulted while on active duty to upgrade her dishonorable discharge to honorable and access the GI Bill and other veterans benefits.

Our client joined the Navy at age 18 to attend college using the GI Bill’s education benefits.  During her service she was sexually assaulted by a noncommissioned officer, who later became her direct supervisor and subjected her to ongoing sexual harassment. She was  deployed twice for combat operations as part of Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia.

Suffering from undiagnosed and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, our client self-medicated with marijuana and was subsequently discharged from the Navy for misconduct. Unable to receive help or mental health services from the Veterans Administration due to her dishonorable discharge, our client fell into homelessness.

Los Angeles Of Counsel Anne Gibbons petitioned the Board of Correction of Naval Records requesting that our client’s discharge status be upgraded to honorable. After reviewing our allegations of error and injustice, the Board of Corrections determined that corrective action was warranted and issued our client an honorable discharge certificate. Our client is now eligible for the GI Bill and other veterans benefits and can move toward a more safe and stable future.

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