Why was Jeffrey Dahmer discharged from the Military? As Netflix series delves into serial killer’s life

While Jeffrey Dahmer is known for his gruesome murders in the United States between 1978 and 1991, it has been revealed that he spent two years of his life serving in the U.S Military.

Dahmer served in the Military following his first murder in 1978, but was ultimately discharged as he was deemed “unsuitable”.

Having dropped out of Ohio State University just one semester into his studies, the serial killer’s father urged the then-19-year-old to enlist in January 1979.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s life of crime has been brought back to the forefront through Netflix’s fictional mini-series “Monster: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer” starring Evan Peters. The 10 episodes recount Dahmer’s 17 murders, his trail, and briefly shows the relationship between Dahmer and his parents Lionel and Joyce.

Episode four alludes to Dahmer’s enrollment in the Military.

Dahmer completed basic training in Alabama before training as an army medic at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, where he was occasionally reprimanded for intoxication.

In one instance, Dahmer was supposedly beaten by his fellow recruits as revenge for his actions leading to the whole platoon being punished.

Six months later, Dahmer who was described as an “average to slightly above soldier” was deployed to West Germany, where he remained until 1981.

He abused alcohol while off-duty during this time, which led to his performance slipping. Dahmer received an honourable discharge due to “being unsuitable for military service.”

Following this, Dahmer returned to America where he killed 16 other boys and men before he was arrested and sentenced to 957 years for his crimes in January 1991.

When the murders came to light, German authorities started to investigate unsolved murder cases that happened while Dahmer was positioned in their 2nd Battalion.

Although no connection was found between the serial killer and the murders, two men accused Jeffrey Dahmer of sexual assault while working with him.

Dahmer’s roommate Billy J. Capshaw reported a year’s worth of assaults to the police, who failed to act on the results of a rape test given to them. Dahmer’s co-worker Preston Davis wrote about the serial killer drugging and raping him in Protect Our Defenders.

Davis said: “Somewhere in that timeframe [1979], I was sexually assaulted, which included penetration...I must have been so ashamed because I have very little recollection of the event.”

The failures of the police are also explored in Netflix’s new miniseries based on the story of Jeffrey Dahmer which can be watched on the streaming service now.