Explained: What Jeffrey Dahmer did in the army and why he was kicked out

Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a drama version of the shocking true story. Given it’s actors playing the roles, people are asking if everything about the show is true, and what may or may not have been changed for the sake of the series. In the show, we see Jeffrey Dahmer sent by his father to join the army.

Dahmer said he was trained to specialise with the medic staff in the army, and we see him return home and never go back. So how much of this was true and why did Jeffrey Dahmer leave the army? Here’s what we know about it in real life.

via Netflix

Jeffrey Dahmer was stationed in Germany with the US Army

After school, Dahmer had been unsure what to do next and his father enrolled him at Ohio State University. Just three months in he dropped out, so Dahmer’s father urged him to join the army.

What the show says about Dahmer’s time in the army is true. During his short time there, Dahmer trained as a medical specialist – at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. In 1979, he was deployed to Baumholder, West Germany. He served as a combat medic in the 2nd Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. He was stationed from July 1979 to March 1981.

According to The Sun, someone who was stationed with Dahmer accused him of sexual assault, and claimed Dahmer only didn’t kill him because they were “in the middle of Belgium”, and Dahmer didn’t know how to get back to Germany. Others described him as “a sociopath, a psychopath, a narcissist”. According to The Cinemaholic, it was later revealed Dahmer sexually abused two men whilst serving in the army.

via Netflix

He left the army in 1981

In 1981, Jeffrey Dahmer was “honourably discharged” from the US army, meaning he was formally let go, and received a rating from good to excellent for his service. Service members who meet or exceed the required standards of duty performance and personal conduct, and who complete their tours of duty, normally receive honourable discharges.

This might sound strange, as Dahmer was actually discharged because of his excessive drinking and was released two years into his three year enlistment. Later that year, he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct.

Did Jeffrey Dahmer kill anyone whilst he was in the army?

Following his arrest in 1991, the police in Germany decided to look back to see if there had been any cold murder cases whilst Dahmer had been there. A number of cases were reopened, but nothing was linked to Dahmer.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available now on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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• Glenda Cleveland wasn’t Jeffrey Dahmer’s next door neighbour – she’s based on two people