ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 8 July 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170013026 APPLICANT REQUESTS: upgrade of his under other than honorable discharge to honorable. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Applicant’s authored statement 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 just found letters in his records were not true. He never admitted to the charges against him. He was under duress and took the discharge. He states he was wrongly persecuted. During this period of time during the investigation, he never had a positive urinalysis. He never was caught with any drugs in his possession or accused of selling them. He hopes this Board will see he was a good Soldier and should have been treated better. 3. A review of the applicant’s service records shows the following: a. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 May 1984. He also reenlisted on 7 May 1984 and 25 February 1987. b. He served in Korea from 15 September 1984 to 11 September 1985 and in Germany from 11 October 1987 to 2 October 1990. c. The complete fact and circumstances surrounding his discharge are not available for review with this case. However, the record contains a letter of debarment and DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) that shows he was discharged from active duty on 3 October 1990 in accordance with chapter 10 of Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations-Enlisted Personnel), for the good of the service, in lieu of trial by court-martial with an under other than honorable conditions discharge. He completed 6 years,4 months and 24 days of active service. He was awarded or authorized: * Army Commendation Medal * Army Achievement Medal * Army Service Ribbon * Overseas Service Medal * Good Conduct medal * Expert Marksmanship Badge Grenade * Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge Pistol 45 caliber 4. By regulation (AR 635-200), Chapter 10, a member who has committed an offense or offenses, the punishment for any of which, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, includes a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, may submit a request for discharge for the good of the service, in lieu of trial by court-martial. 5. In reaching its determination, the Board can consider the applicants petition and his service record in accordance with the published equity, injustice, or clemency determination guidance. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, to include the DoD guidance on liberal consideration when reviewing discharge upgrade requests, the Board determined that partial relief was warranted. Based upon the documentary evidence presented by the applicant and found within the military service record, the Board concluded there was insufficient evidence to show that an error or injustice was present which would warrant making a change to the characterization of service. However, the Board did note that the applicant had a prior period of honorable service which is not currently reflected on his DD Form and recommended that change be completed to more accurately depict the applicant’s military service. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF :X :X :X GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding the following additional statement to block 18 (Remarks) of his DD Form 214: “Continuous honorable active service from 10 May 1984 until 22 February 1987.” 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to upgrading the characterization of his discharge. 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. Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), in effect at the time, provides for the separation of enlisted personnel a. Paragraph 3-7a (Honorable discharge) states an honorable discharge is a separation with honor. The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member’s service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel, or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. b. Paragraph 3-7b (General discharge) states a general discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions. When authorized, it is issued to a member whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. c. Paragraph 3-7c (Under other than honorable conditions) states a discharge under other than honorable conditions is an administrative separation from the service under conditions other than honorable. It may be issued for misconduct, fraudulent entry, homosexuality, security reasons, or for the good of the service. d. Paragraph 3-10 (Dishonorable Discharge Certificate) states a member will be given a dishonorable discharge pursuant only to an approved sentence of a general court-martial. The appellate review must be completed and the affirmed sentence ordered duly executed. 3. AR 635-8 (Separations Processing and Documents), currently in effect, provides for the preparation and distribution of the DD Form 214. It states for item 18 (Remarks) to Soldiers who have previously reenlisted without being issued a DD Form 214 and are separated with any characterization of service except "Honorable", enter "Continuous Honorable Active Service from" (first day of service for which DD Form 214 was not issued) Until (date before commencement of current enlistment). 4. On 25 July 2018, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness issued guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records regarding equity, injustice or clemency determinations. Clemency generally refers to relief specifically granted from a criminal sentence and ABCMRs may grant clemency regardless of the court-martial forum. However, the guidance applies to more than clemency from a sentencing in a court-martial; it also applies to any other corrections, including changes in discharge, which may be warranted on equity or relief from injustice grounds. The guidance does not mandate relief, but rather provides standards and principles to guide Boards in application of their equitable relief authority. In determining whether to grant relief on the basis of equity, an injustice, or clemency grounds, ABCMRs shall consider the twelve stated principles in the guidance as well as eighteen individual factors related to an applicant. These factors include the severity of the misconduct and the length of time since the misconduct. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170013026 4 1