Williams & Connolly is pleased to announce a pro bono victory for a Marine Corps veteran who enlisted at 17 and deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand Province in 2010. During his deployment, he survived numerous firefights with the Taliban but returned home suffering from PTSD, nightmares, and withdrawal. Ultimately, he turned to alcohol and marijuana to cope, which led to an Other Than Honorable (“OTH”) discharge. The veteran remained burdened by his OTH discharge until W&C took his case and submitted a compelling application for a discharge upgrade. In May 2026, he received notice that his discharge has been upgraded to Honorable, the highest possible characterization.
The team representing him included associate Ashwin Shandilya, himself a Marine veteran, with assistance from Navy veteran and W&C partner Greg Bowman.