ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  9 August 2019

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20170001641


APPLICANT REQUESTS: 

*	all rights and privileges be restored to him
*	he be provided a copy of his court-martial records 

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 
DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)

FACTS:

1.  The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United 
States Code (USC), section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of 
Military Records conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the 
interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 

2.  The applicant states he was tried by court-martial seven times.  He was discharged 
from active duty in September 1995 and justice demands that the social balance be 
restored.  The Uniform Code of Military Justice gives every member of the Armed 
Forces the right to complain.  The court-martial record said all rights and privileges were 
to be restored.  What happened?  He would like a copy of the records which will include 
a transcript of any court-martial proceedings.  He has not had any feedback for eighteen 
years.  This has been a cold case for too long.  He asks the Board to please help him.   

3.  A review of the applicant’s service record shows:

     a.  He enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 13 September 1978.

     b.  On 4 February 1983, while serving as a Sergeant (SGT), he was tried before a 
summary court-martial at the Presidio of San Francisco.  He was found guilty of stealing 
five dollars of gasoline from the Army Air Force Exchange Service Station and found not 
guilty of possession of marijuana.  His adjudged sentence included reduction to 
Specialist Four (SP4) and forfeiture of $200 pay for one month.  In Summary Court-
Martial Order Number 1, dated 16 February 1983, the convening authority approved the 
sentence, but suspended the reduction until 3 May 1983, at which time, unless the 
suspension was sooner vacated, the sentence to reduction would be remitted without 
further action. 

     c.  In Summary Court-Martial Order Number 6, dated 14 March 1983, a commander 
subordinate to the convening authority, vacated the suspension and ordered that the 
reduction to SP4 be duly executed.  

     d.  In Summary Court-Martial Order Number 3, dated 14 November 1983, the 
convening authority set aside the portion of Summary Court-Martial Order Number 6 
that vacated the suspended reduction.  The order stated that “all rights, privileges, and 
property of which the accused has been deprived by virtue of the execution of the 
reduction are restored.”

     e.  On 31 January 1985, the applicant, while serving as a SGT, received a company 
grade non-judicial punishment for dereliction of duty in failing to contact his company 
commander as required.

     f.  On 26 July 1985, the applicant was honorably discharged from the RA in the rank 
of SGT and transferred to the United States Army Reserve (USAR), where he remained 
in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) until enlisting in the Active Guard Reserve in 
1990.

     g.  He entered a period of active duty on 28 September 1990.  On 11 February 1994, 
he was honorably released from active duty in the rank of Staff Sergeant due to 
completion of required active service.  He was transferred to the USAR Control Group 
(Reinforcement).  

     h.  He reenlisted in the USAR on 24 May 1994 for a term of three years, but does not 
appear to have actively participated in further military service.

     i.  The applicant’s record is void of any reference to additional courts-martial beyond 
the summary court-martial noted above.

4.  By law, monetary claims against the Government must be made within six years of 
accrual.   

5.  By regulation then in effect, local files involving summary courts-martial were 
maintained for three years and then retired.  After ten years, the only evidence that 
remained of an individual’s conviction by summary court-martial was the summary 
court-martial order in the individual’s permanent record. 





BOARD DISCUSSION:

After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found the relief 
was not warranted.  The applicant’s contentions were carefully considered.  The 
applicant appears to have only requested a copy of court-martial documents.  A review 
of his record revealed the court-martial information provided above.  The applicant is 
advised that a copy of this decisional document, along with his application will be filed in 
his official military records.  The correspondence provided to him as a result of his 
request should serve to clarify any questions or confusion regarding the court-martial 
record.  The Board has no jurisdiction or authority to grant individual rights as provided 
by civilian officials within the community.  The Board agreed there was no relief to 
consider in this case.

BOARD VOTE:
Mbr 1	Mbr 2	Mbr 3

:	:	:	GRANT FULL RELIEF

:	:	:	GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

:	:	:	GRANT FORMAL HEARING

X	X	X	DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or 
injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient 
as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.


	 _________X_______


I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the 
Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.



REFERENCES:

1.  Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military 
records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  
This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records 
(ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of 
limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.

2.  Title 31 U. S. Code (USC), section 3702, also known as the Barring Act, prohibits 
the payment of a claim against the Government unless the claim has been received by 
the Comptroller General within 6 years after the claim accrues. Among the important 
public policy considerations behind statutes of limitations, including the 6-year limitation 
for filing claims contained in this section of Title 31, U.S. Code, is relieving the 
Government of the need to retain, access, and review old records for the purpose of 
settling stale claims, which are often difficult to prove or disprove.
  
3.  Army Regulation 340-17 (Office Management—Release of Information and Records 
from Army Files), in effect at the time, provides policies and procedures for the 
Department of Defense implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  
Annex B “Addressing FOIA Requests” states with respect to summary courts-martial 
that the locally maintained records are retired three years after action of the supervisory 
authority.  After ten years, the only evidence of a summary court-martial conviction is 
the summary court-martial order in the person’s permanent records.   

//NOTHING FOLLOWS//

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20170001641

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