Lol the enlistment oath you take at MEPS when you join is to make you think you joined so there is less chance of you flaking out before going to bootcamp. It doesn't mean anything. These are DEP discharges. They are not servicemembers.
However, immigration attorneys told the AP that many immigrants let go in recent weeks were an “uncharacterized discharge,” neither dishonorable nor honorable.
Thats because they havn't actually served in the military. They just signed an enlistment contract. It is called a DEP discharge. Until they do their second oath right before they get on the plane to go to bootcamp they are not considered a service member.
That isn't a comment on what is going on, just trying to clarify something blatantly left out by the article.