This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Section 8" military – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Section 8 was a category ofmilitary discharge employed by theUnited States Armed Forces which was used for servicemembers judgedmentally unfit for service. The term "Section 8" eventually came to mean any service member given such a discharge, or behaving as if deserving such a discharge, as in the expression, "he's a Section 8".

This type of discharge could be granted for a wide variety of perceived problems, includinglow intelligence, incompatibility with core military expectations or responsibilities,alcoholism or other chronic addictions,personality disorders,pathological lying,psychopathy,personality disorders,enuresis (then believed to be a mental disorder),psychosis orantisocial behavior.^[1] A variety of sexual conduct could result in a Section 8 discharge, includingcross-dressing,homosexuality,lesbianism,bisexuality andtransgenderism;^[2] along withnecrophilia,bestiality andpederasty.^[1]

The term comes from Section VIII of theWorld War II–era United States Army Regulation 615–360, concerning the separation of enlisted men from military service. Section VIII provided for the discharge of men who were deemed mentally unfit for military service.^[1]

A Section 8 discharge could behonorable or dishonorable, depending on the circumstances of each case.^[1]

Section 8 discharges were often given to members of theLGBT community, as they were deemed mentally unfit to serve in the military. A Section 8 discharge for homosexuality of other sexual conduct was dishonorable,^[1] and often made it difficult for people to find work in civilian life and did not allow for veterans benefits.^[2] An official military report indicates "Relatively few military personnel were discharged from the Army during World War II for homosexuality", but admits existing data are not entirely reliable.^[1]

Discharge under Section 8 is no longer practiced, as medical discharges for psychological or psychiatric reasons are now covered by a number of regulations. In the Army, such discharges are handled under the provisions of AR 635–200,Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations. Chapter 5, paragraph 13 governs the separation of personnel medically diagnosed with apersonality disorder.^[3]

This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Section 8" military – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• In the 1959 war novelA Separate Peace, the character Elwin "Leper" Lepellier gets a Section 8 discharge from the ski troops because he was hallucinating due to sleep deprivation.
• Section 8 became a household phrase when used in the 1970s TV seriesM*A*S*H, in which the characterCorporal Klinger was continually seeking one but his efforts were denied due to his transparentmalingering and until he eventually abandoned his efforts.^[4] His preferred method of doing so wascross-dressing, but other attempts included threatening to set himself on fire and consuming a Jeep piece by piece.^[5][6]
• InStanley Kubrick's 1987 filmFull Metal Jacket, the character of Pvt. Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio) is described as potentially being a Section 8 when it is noticed that he talks to his rifle, and another rifleman in the Lusthog Squad, aptly named Hand Job, was sent to a Navy psychologist due to excessive masturbation (as Cowboy put it, "jerking off 10 times a day") and was instantly classified as a Section 8 after he startedmasturbating in the waiting room.^[7]
• In the 1993 filmCliffhanger, the character Travis goes rogue, saying "I've gone full fucking Section 8!"
• In the 1998 filmWhen Trumpets Fade, the character Private David Manning tried to avoid combat by asking for Section 8 from his company commander, Captain Roy Pritchett, but he was promoted to Sergeant instead. Later on, Pritchett offers Manning a Section 8 discharge if he volunteers and succeeds in taking out a German88 battery.
• In the 2003 movieBasic, a DEA agent Tom Hardy (John Travolta) investigates a group of apparently insane mercenary Rangers turned drug dealers calling themselves Section 8.
• In the 2007 video gameHalo 3, the marine allies will occasionally ask the player if they have 'gone Section 8' if they shoot them. If the player kills too many of them, one may yell 'He's gone Section 8!' and start shooting the player back.
• The 2009 video gameSection 8 was named after the military term due to its game mechanics of "dangerously insane" orbital flights.
• Americandeathcore bandWhitechapel featured a song called "Section 8" on theirself-titled album from 2012.
• In the 2019 video gameCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, the character Sgt. Wayne Dylan Davis ("D-Day") is given a Section 8 discharge after the failed rescue attempt of a teammate
• In the 2022 filmSection Eight, a group of discharged soldiers become secret assassins.

During World War II, in November 1943, at age 17, actorSidney Poitier lied about his age and enlisted in the Army. He was assigned to a Veteran's Administration hospital inNorthport, New York, and was trained to work with psychiatric patients. Poitier became upset with how the hospital treated its patients and feigned mental illness to obtain a discharge. Poitier confessed to a psychiatrist that he was faking his condition, but the doctor was sympathetic and granted his discharge under Section VIII of Army regulation 615–360 in December 1944.^[8]

• Blue discharge
• Don't ask, don't tell

• United States military law
• Military psychiatry
• Disability in law
• LGBTQ military history in the United States

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from May 2023
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles needing additional references from March 2025