I still can't make any sense of it.
Why would the military put themselves in a position to house, clothe, feed and train a recruit and then cut him loose at 9 months, right when he has the training/ability to start being helpful and of some service?
The post Vietnam era is considered a low point in the American military as far as morale and quality, but I still can't imagine they were allowing 9 month contracts
I have a scenario in my head.
Joe was caught stealing sundries and produce and selling them in bulk to local diners and restaurants near Bragg. Not as bad as a QM stealing M16s and grenades and selling them on the black market obviously, but still theft of Uncle Sam's property. An automatic DD and probable prison time in Leavenworth.
He was caught by his immediate superior. Let's call him Staff Sergeant D'Amato. As he was chewing him out, Joe burst into tears and started begging him. Please don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my life. I'm not built for prison. I'll kill myself.
D'Amato was unmoved.
Then Joe pulled the Guinea card.
It'll break my mother's heart.
D'Amato wasn't made of stone, and his old, dear mother was the second most important person in his life. The first had been born three days earlier; his first child, a masculine child - his son and heir, Vincent D'Amato Jr. He was in a rare forgiving mood.
Staff Sergeant D'Amato surveyed the pathetic scene in front of him. This big lummox wailing on his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks, snot bubbles blowing out of his broad, flared nostrils. The dumb kid had made a stupid mistake. And if D'Amato was honest with himself, he knew it partly wasn't even his fault. Criminality was in his genes.
D'Amato remembered his own early days in the service. He and a couple of other paisans had had a nice little shylock business going, lending money to the hayseeds and niggers in their unit who were always broke two days after they got their paychecks. Of course they paid 2 points a week on top of the principle. Most of them were happy to, but you'd get the odd wiseguy who thought he'd stand up. They'd get a crack and fall into line.
D'Amato was a lot of things, but he wasn't a hypocrite.
"OK, Cumia. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to put in your papers today. You'll get a general discharge on grounds of diminished responsibility. You know what that means, right? Means we've deemed you too retarded to peel potatoes, let alone fix jeeps or man a mortar crew. You got a problem with that, you'll be some nigger in Leavenworth's dog chew toy by Friday. Capiche?"
Joe's first instinctual thought was "Hey, that sounds fun", but he quickly pushed it down.
"Y...yes, Staff Sergeant. Th...thank you."
Until I see evidence to the contrary, this is definitely what happened.