PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  		 

	BOARD DATE:           16 December 1998                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-11785

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. David H. Keller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher 		Chairperson	
	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Member	
	Ms. Carol Jo Suiter 		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that his discharge under other than honorable conditions be upgraded to honorable.  He states, in effect, that he served 6 years without any disciplinary actions before going AWOL.  That he had a drinking problem and never heard of Alcoholics Anonymous, or he would have religiously checked into it.  The reasons why he would like his discharge upgraded is because he is on a waiting list for a job with the US Post Office and he is also interested in buying a home with a VA loan.

3.  The applicant was inducted on 9 February 1971 and, after training, was assigned to Fort Ord, California.  He was separated with an honorable discharge on 18 December 1972 for the purpose of enlisting in the Regular Army.  During this period he had attained the rank of specialist four.

4.  The applicant was again separated with an honorable discharge on 
22 September 1975 with 4 years, 7 months and 4 days of total creditable service.  During this period he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and was promoted to specialist five.

5.  On 6 July 1978 the applicant was formally charged with AWOL from 
17 March to 20 June 1978, and failure to obey a lawful order.  He consulted with counsel and voluntarily requested discharge for the good of the service under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10, in lieu of trial by court-martial.  He stated that he acknowledged he was guilty of the charge against him which authorized the imposition of a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, and that he did not desire further rehabilitation, nor had no desire for further military service.  He stated that he understood the nature and consequences of the under other than honorable conditions discharge that he might receive.  He declined to submit a statement in his own behalf.

6.  On 27 July 1978 the separation authority, a major general, approved the request and directed the applicant be issued an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge Certificate.  The applicant was discharged on 3 August 1978 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

7.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 10 of that regulation provides, in pertinent part, that a member who has committed an offense or offenses for which the authorized punishment includes a punitive discharge may at any time after the charges have been preferred, submit a request for discharge for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial.  A discharge under other than honorable conditions is normally considered appropriate.

8.  There is no evidence that the applicant applied to the Army Discharge Review Board for upgrade of his discharge within its 15-year statute of limitations.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The overall quality of the applicant’s last period of service does not warrant recharacterization of his discharge.  However, in view of the honorable nature of his prior enlistments, his honorable discharge on 22 September 1975 should be considered a complete and unconditional separation.  To do otherwise would work an injustice upon him by depriving him, or his heirs, of consideration for certain VA benefits for his honorable periods of service.

2.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, and in recognition of his previous years of good service, it would be appropriate and proper to consider his honorable discharge on 22 September 1975 as a complete and unconditional separation from the military service.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned received a complete and unconditional separation from the military service at the time of his honorable discharge on 22 September 1975.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.