Wow, lots of REALLY bad data being thrown around in this thread.

If the recruit was injured badly enough to be discharged, the discharge would not occur until after a Medical Review Board had been convened to review his case. Competent medical authority would have reviewed all evidence and made a ruling about wether he was fit for continued service based on current medical standards and the injury itself. If his hearing was damaged badly enough and he no longer meets minimum hearing standards to serve, he would be recommended by the board for medical separation.

Appealing this decision is in no way a legal thing, and advising him to get a lawyer is just pointless. What’s he going to do? Sue the Marine Corps for not allowing a medically unqualified individual to continue to serve?

Finally, any service related disability is eligible for compensation by the VA. Before he was discharged there would have been a VA representative who reviewed his case and submitted him for compensation commensurate with his injury. Hearing loss, depending on the severity, would result in a VA disability rating and entitle him to a monthly payment.

Having said all of this, a medical review board takes quite a long time, as does the discharge process. As others have said, this timeline does not add up in a logical way. If he recently joined, and was then injured, they couldn’t/wouldn’t simply discharge him after being injured. He would be a in a holding platoon at boot camp for months while the processes worked themselves out. I’d the timeline is accurate, it is highly likely this individual was discharged for “failure to adapt”. He would have been given a DD214 with an RE code on it once he left, and that will tell you pretty much all of what you need to know.