MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           20 January 1999                                      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999014816

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

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Robert J. McGowan		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Robert W. Garrett 		Member	
	Ms. Deborah S. Jacobs 		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, that his undesirable discharge (UD) be upgraded to an honorable discharge (HD).

APPLICANT STATES:  That he now realizes he should have stayed in the Army and made up his lost time.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records are incomplete, but information available shows:

He enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 7 October 1950.  Although his military occupational specialty is unknown, the bulk of his assignments were with engineer units.

On 23 September 1953, the applicant was given a hearing before a board of officers to determine whether he should be discharged from the Army prior to his ETS (expiration term of service) date due to continual disciplinary violations involving being AWOL.  During his hearing, the following record of previous convictions by courts-martial was introduced:  31 March 1951, summary court-martial for AWOL from 19-24 March 1951; 27 August 1951, summary court-martial for AWOL from 1-15 August 1951; 8 January 1952, special court-martial for AWOL from 5-10 and 20-30 December 1951; 11 June 1952, summary court-martial for AWOL from 5-19 May 1952; 19 March 1953, special court-martial for AWOL from 19 December 1952 to 20 January 1953; 9 April 1953, special court-martial for AWOL from 26-31 January 1953, 2-23 February 1953, and 
25 February-10 March 1953; 30 August 1953, summary court-martial for AWOL on 29 August 1953; and 10 September 1953, summary court-martial for AWOL on 7 September 1953.  In addition, he received two company punishments for failure to repair on 9 August 1953 and on 23 August 1953.

The board of officers recommended that the applicant be separated with a UD for unfitness under the provisions of AR 615-368.  The recommendation was approved and, on 2 November 1953, he was given a UD for unfitness.  He had 2 years, 4 months, and 13 days of creditable service and 253 days of lost time due to AWOL and confinement.

Army Regulation 615-368, in effect at the time, set forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel for reasons of unfitness.  The regulation provided, in pertinent part, that members guilty of repeated misconduct were subject to separation.  An undesirable discharge was normally considered appropriate.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  The applicant demonstrated his unfitness through his repeated AWOL’s.  Despite numerous attempts by his chain of command to correct the applicant’s behavior, he continued to exhibit disciplinary problems.

3.  The discharge proceedings were conducted in accordance with applicable law and regulations.  The character of the discharge is commensurate with the applicant's overall record of military service and the nature of his misconduct.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JH___  __RWG      __DSJ__  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999014816	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990120	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19531102	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-368  	
DISCHARGE REASON	A50	
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Harrell	
ISSUES         1.	110.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.