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These are the conditions under which a member
may request and possibly receive a separation from
service based on hardship. If a member’s reasons for
requesting a hardship discharge do not fall within these
criteria, the request will likely be denied. Other
conditions, such as the ones we will discuss in the
following paragraphs, will also cause the request to be
denied.
REASONS UNDER WHICH A MEMBER
MAY NOT BE SEPARATED
Except under extraordinary circumstances as
determined by the SPCMCA, separation according to
the MILPERSMAN, Article 3620210, is not authorized
when the member is under charges or confined.
Additionally, separation is not authorized solely for the
following reasons:
Financial or business reasons (including the
operation of a family business unless the business is the
sole income of the family and there are no other family
members capable or willing to operate it).
Indebtedness.
Personal convience.
The member’s physical or mental health.
Moral support to an immediate family member
whose life expectancy is estimated by the attending
physician to be less than 6 months. (In this situation, a
request for humanitarian reassignment should be sent
following guidelines contained in chapter 18 of the
ENLTRANSMAN, NAVPERS 15909.)
Custody battles or divorce proceedings.
When the member’s request is based on any of these
conditions, the request for hardship separation will
likely be denied.
In each case, the SPCMCA is charged with closely
examining the reasons for which members request
separation based on hardship. The SPCMCA is not
allowed to use the following two conditions as the sole
reasons to deny a member’s request for separation based
on hardship:
1. The member is required in his or her assigned
duties.
2. The member is indebted either to the
government or to an individual.
Neither of these two conditions can be used by an
SPCMCA as the sole reason to deny a member’s request
for a hardship separation. Although SPCMCAs are
charged with closely monitoring special entitlement
programs such as the selective reenlistment bonus
(SRB), an SPCMCA cannot deny a member’s request
for a hardship separation based solely on the fact that
the government would fail to recoup entitlement
monies. Other conditions, such as the ones described
in the following section, also warrant special
consideration by the SPCMCA.
CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WARRANT
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Extraordinary circumstances involving members of
the applicant’s family normally warrant special
consideration when it is proved that the member’s
presence is essential to ease the hardship. The
following list contains some examples of special
circumstances:
The death of, or final divorce from, a spouse
where the member is left as sole parent of a minor child
or children, and other arrangements cannot be made for
their continued care, and the member cannot continue
at present duties and properly care for them. (To be
eligible for separation in this situation, the member
must be a single parent serving on [or under orders to]
sea duty or be in a deployable status and have a final
divorce decree with permanent physical custody of
children awarded).
The long-term physical or mental illness of the
spouse that does not allow the member to perform duties
as assigned and the member’s continued presence is
required. (Whether the mental illness of the member’s
spouse is severe enough to warrant a hardship discharge
is a decision within the discretion of the appropriate
SPCMCA.)
As a result of the disability or death of a parent,
and the separation of the member from the Navy is
essential for the financial and physical support of a
member or members of the family. (Undue hardship
does not necessarily exist solely because of altered
present or anticipated income. Consideration must be
given to social security, disability payments, other
federal and state assistance programs, and any other
income or assets of the member or other family
members.)
As a PN, you should be aware of the conditions that
will be considered when a member is planning to
request a separation based on hardship. In your career,
you will likely counsel members on the proper
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