'A scarlet letter': Veterans help their fellows overturn bad military discharges

Activist veterans are helping their comrades seek upgrades to “bad paper” military discharges that disqualify them from key benefits that help them reenter civilian life.

“I think there is a growing sense that something needs to be done,” said Kristofer Goldsmith, 34, who advocates on behalf of fellow veterans. Approximately 500,000 living veterans from various wars have been discharged from the military under other than honorable conditions, says Goldsmith, who himself once had “bad paper” from his time in the Army.