Explained: Why was Jeffrey Dahmer discharged honorably from the US Army?

The recent release of Netflix's Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story threw light on the American serial killer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer, who was convicted of 15 terms in prison for killing 15 men and young boys over a period of 13 years, from 1978 to 1991, with an additional conviction for the murder of Steven Hicks.

The series, which features Evan Peters in the shoes of Dahmer, touched upon Dahmer's troubled childhood, his adolescence as well as his enlistment in the U.S. Army. It premiered on Netflix on September 21, 2022.

Dahmer's first victim was Steven Mark Hicks, whom he had murdered in 1978, a year prior to joining the army in 1979. After being trained as a medical specialist, Dahmer was deployed to Baumholder, West Germany, the same year.

Read on to learn more about Jeffrey Dahmer's years in the U.S. Army and why he received an honorable discharge despite not completing his term of three-year enlistment.

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Jeffrey Dahmer was discharged honorably from the U.S. Army 2 years after enlistment

When did Jeffrey Dahmer join the army and why?

Dahmer joined the army in 1979 upon his father's insistence. Prior to his enlistment, Dahmer had enrolled for a major in business at Ohio State University. However, his persistent alcohol abuse impacted his academic performance and led to Dahmer dropping out after just three months.

Richard Jenkins plays Jeffrey Dahmer's father in the series (Image via Netflix Tudum)

He trained as a medical specialist at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, and was deployed to Baumholder, West Germany, in July 1979, where he served as an Army combat medic.

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Dahmer's performance and discharge

Dahmer's alcohol abuse impeded his performance in the Army as well. In March 1981, Dahmer was deemed unsuitable for military service and was later discharged from the army. He received an honorable discharge, as his superiors did not believe that any problems Dahmer had in the Army would be applicable to civilian life.

To receive an honorable discharge, a member must be well-rated by their superiors and must have met or exceeded the required standards of performance and personal conduct. Dahmer's alcohol abuse, in addition to other misconduct, was enough to get him a dishonorable discharge, but did not.

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Accounts of r*pe and s**ual abuse while in the Army

After Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and his killings were divulged to the public, the military looked into unsolved cases from Dahmer's time. Police in Germany had also reopened cases from Dahmer's time, but did not find anything.

Dahmer might not have murdered anyone while with the Army, but two men later came forward and revealed that they had been s*xually abused by the serial killer.

Preston Davis was 20 when he was posted to the same medic unit as Dahmer. Davis, a black man, noted that Dahmer was racist and obnoxious as a drunkard. He was tasked with training Dahmer, the new recruit, and was set for a promotion after the training period was over.

In his story on the website Protect Our Defenders, Davis wrote that during a field exercise, he was left isolated with Dahmer. On one of the last few days, their tank broke down and was towed to the train station, where they were supposed to wait until the completion of the field exercise.

Davis wrote:

"During this three or four-day period. I was isolated and alone with Jeffrey. Somewhere in that time frame, I was s*xually assaulted, which included penetration. I believe that I was drugged because I lost time and have memory gaps."

He added:

"I must have been so ashamed because I had very little recollection of the event."

The abuse took a toll on Davis, whose performances deteriorated both in the army as well as his personal life. Even though Davis received an honorable discharge in 1986, he said,

"I was a very bitter individual because I love the service and was angry that my career ended after nine years. My marriage had so many issues that my wife and I divorced in 1988, and we eventually lost contact. I lost contact with my sons as well due to moving so frequently and not keeping in touch."

Glenda Cleveland in the series about Jeffrey Dahmer (Image via Netflix Tudum)

Davis has also suffered from medical issues over the years.

After Davis left Baumholder, 17-year-old Billy Joe Capshaw replaced him. Capshaw and Jeffrey Dahmer were roommates, and said that he had been r*ped and tortured by Dahmer for 17 months.

"I had probably been r*ped 8 to 10 times, I don't know. He was tying me to the bunk with motor-pool rope. He took all my clothing from me. He would either beat me before he r*ped me or he would beat me after."

Capshaw added that even though he had approached the doctors and got tested for r*pe, he was sent back, only to learn 10 years later that the test had been discarded.

He said:

"They threw me to the dogs."

The accounts are opposed to the certificate of honorable discharge that was bestowed on Dahmer, and point fingers at the possible racist treatment of militarymen.

He was eventually arrested in 1991 after one of his victims, Tracy Edwards, escaped from his apartment. Dahmer was convicted of 15 of the 16 murders he had committed in Wisconsin and was sentenced to 15 terms of life imprisonment on February 17, 1992. He was later sentenced to a sixteenth term of life imprisonment for an additional homicide committed in Ohio in 1978.

Dahmer's youngest victim was a 14-year-old Lao boy, who was returned to him by the police even after Dahmer's neighbor flagged off the child's inebriated condition. The depiction in the series garnered the wrath of netizens who criticized the police forces. But the s*xual assault cases during Dahmer's tenure in the army never came to light.

Jeffrey Dahmer was beaten to death by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver in 1994.

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Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is currently streaming on Netflix.