[IYAS9YAS]

If I understand correctly, he would not have passed a background check with a less than honorable discharge.

4473 only asks about Dishonorable, not anything other than Honorable. There are 5 types of discharge. Honorable Discharge, General Discharge under Honorable Conditions, Other than Honorable Discharge, Bad Conduct Discharge, and Dishonorable Discharge.

There's also an Entry Level Separation, and it applies for entrants with less than 180 days in the service. This is where you just don't make the cut, but at that point, you're technically not a veteran, as you didn't meet any requirements to fit the veteran description.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Thank you for the clarifications. :-)