PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            30 November 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000038135

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Member	
	Mr. Thomas Lanyi		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 undesirable discharge be upgraded to an honorable discharge.  He also requests that his Report of Transfer or Discharge (DD Form 214) be corrected to show his service in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant states that his family was having problems while he was in the Army and that he is now submitting the documentation to support his contentions.  In support of his appeal he submits a copy of an undated letter explaining why he joined the Army and requesting that he be discharged because of his wife’s mental and physical conditions.  In the letter he indicates that he had harsh feeling towards the Army, that he did not wish to remain in the Army any longer and that he would go absent without leave (AWOL) the first chance he got.  He goes on to state that he requested a compassionate reassignment and his request was denied.  He also submits a copy of a psychiatric evaluation conducted on his wife on 3 November 1971, a copy of a notarized letter from the Director of Social Services in Cleveland, Ohio dated 22 July 1971 and a copy of a notarized letter signed by himself dated 1 March 1973, requesting to be released from the Army because of his home situation.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 26 February 1971, he enlisted in the Army for 2 years in the pay grade of E-1 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  He successfully completed his basic combat training and his advanced individual training and he was transferred to Vietnam on 16 July 1971.  He returned to the Continental United States (CONUS) on 1 June 1972 and he was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

5.  The applicant went AWOL on 8 July 1972 and he remained absent until 8 August 1972.  He went AWOL again on 5 September 1972 and he remained absent until he was apprehended by civil authorities and returned to military control on 31 January 1973.  He went AWOL a third time on 12 February 1973 and he remained absent until he was apprehended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on 2 April 1973.

6.  The facts and circumstances pertaining to the applicant's discharge are not on file.  The DD Form 214 indicates that the applicant was discharged on 30 April 1973 under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10 for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial.  He had completed 1 year, 6 months and 17 days of total active service.  He had approximately 230 days of lost time due to AWOL and was issued an Undesirable Discharge Certificate.

7. The applicant’s DD Form 214 fails to show any foreign service and any of the decorations that he was awarded or authorized while he was in the Army.  However, his Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows that he was

authorized the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (w/Device 60) and 1 overseas bar.

8.  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.  However, at the time of the applicant's separation the regulation provided for the issuance of an undesirable discharge.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The type of discharge directed and the reasons therefor appear to have been appropriate considering all the facts of the case.

2.  The Board has noted the applicant’s contentions.  However, the family problems that he contends he was experiencing appear to have been an insufficient justification for granting a compassionate reassignment.  

3.  The evidence of record clearly shows that he went AWOL on three separate occasions for a total of 230 days.  It was only after he submitted a request for the Army to release him that he was discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10 for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial.  The character of the discharge is commensurate with his overall record.

4.  However, during the preparation of the DD Form 214, an administrative error was made which resulted in the omission of all of the applicant’s authorized decorations and his foreign service.

5.  The evidence of record clearly shows that he was transferred to Vietnam on 16 July 1971 and he returned to the CONUS on 1 June 1972.  The record also shows that he was authorized the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (w/Device 60) and 1 overseas bar.  His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show the decorations that he was authorized while he was in the Army along with his foreign service.

6.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by amending the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned to show his foreign service and all of the decorations to which he was authorized while he was in the Army.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

____js __  __cla____  ___tl  ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______John N. Slone______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000038135	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2000/11/30	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	UD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1973/04/30	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200	
DISCHARGE REASON	689	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  651	144.6300	
2.  46	107.000	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.