ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 22 October 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170015552 APPLICANT REQUESTS: his reenlistment eligibility (RE) code be changed on his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and in effect, an upgrade of his general, under honorable conditions discharge to honorable. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Self-Authored Statement * Request Pertaining to Military Records * Letter from Commander dated 8 August 1989 * Memorandum from Transition Point dated 8 August 1989 * Partial DA Form 2 (Personnel Qualification Record) * Center for Employment Training Transcript * Notable Skills * Unofficial College Transcript * Certificate of Completion – Drug and Alcohol Studies * Business License Tax Application * Temporary Business License Tax Certificate * Email reference Wounded Warrior Project * DD Form 214 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 (ABCMR) 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 currently his RE Code is documented as RE 4, but should be RE 3, as indicated by the documents he has provided. a. He served 11 years with the Army and during that time he received the Army Good Conduct Medal, Non-commissioned Officer “Medal”, the Army Achievement Medal twice, and Overseas Service Ribbon three times. He also completed his GED in the military. b. He has since earned his bachelor’s degree, he is self-employed, and working to support Veterans who have recently left the war and having domestic family issues. His life has changed, he is disabled now and although he had problems, he honored his country. c. Military service was common in his family and at least 80% of the men served. He aspired to be a Soldier after a visit from his uncle left him speechless and shortly thereafter he joined the Army. d. He lacked structure in his life after his parents passed away when he was 12 years old. He found himself emulating different leaders, but found himself confused and headed in a different direction. He ultimately married and had three boys, but found himself overwhelmed and unable to divide his time despite numerous attempts. e. He ran from his problems, he left his dreams, his family, his boys, his future, and once again he was lost and alone. He drowned his sorrows in “the bottom of bottles” for over 20 years. He was ashamed and regretted his decisions. f. His faith was restored when he woke up and found himself lying in front of a Veterans Administration office and was invited inside to assist with chair set up and for a meal. His journey began when they helped him obtain an HVAC Universal Technician certification. He ultimately became an alumni for the Homeless Veterans Rehabilitation Program and gave back to the community. g. He worked with the Passport to Learning program to help support individuals who needed employment, anger management skills, and substance abuse support, but found they were pushing quantity versus quality. He then founded his own academy to focus on quality. h. He is requesting an honorable discharge certificate for the 11 years of honor he put into the country. He earned 3 Good Conduct Medals and was not a bad Soldier. He wants to share his adventure of being a Veteran in the service which makes himself and others feel good about the world we live in. 3. The applicant provides ten sets of orders which detailed, by order number, his periods of active service: a. A Request Pertaining to Military Records with contact information for his request to locate his military records. b. A letter from the Commander, Fort Jackson, SC, dated 8 August 1989, which stated an error was found on his DD Form 214 and the request was being forwarded to the National Personnel Records Center to prepare a DD Form 215 (Correction of DD Form 214). c. A memorandum from the transition point, dated 8 August 1989, for the request of a DD Form 215 to correct the RE Codes found on the applicant’s DD Form 214 from RE 4 to RE 3. d. A partial DA Form 2 with some details of his military service including promotion dates, military or civilian education, and assignment information. e. Center for Employment Training Transcript, dated 28 March 2000, indicating the applicant completed a number of courses in their program with 610.5 hours dedicated to the course. f. A document of notable skills which laid out certifications and experience he had obtained. g. An unofficial college transcript, dated 9 May 2007, that outlined courses he had completed and courses he had in progress. h. A certificate of completion for Drug and Alcohol Studies, dated 23 May 2008. i. A Business License Tax Application, dated 3 March 2017, for the academy the applicant founded and owns. j. A temporary Business License Tax Certificate, dated 3 March 2017, with receipt attached. k. An email reference the Wounded Warrior Project, dated 2 February 2015, which discussed the applicant’s desire to start his own business and grants provided to support those endeavors. 4. A review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. He enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 28 December 1978. b. His overseas service included: * Germany from 28 January 1978 to 16 February 1979 * Alaska from 24 November 1981 to 24 June 1984 * Germany from 22 May 1986 to 1 August 1989 c. On 10 September 1987, a memorandum was sent to the applicant for a Department of the Army (DA) imposed a Bar to Reenlistment under the Qualitative Management Program. He was provided directions on selecting options and guidance on steps for an appeal, if he elected to submit one. d. He received nonjudicial punishment on/for: * 23 February 1981, one specification of failure to be at his appointed place of duty and one specification of false official statement; his punishment included reduction to specialist/E-4 * 4 November 1987, one specification of failure to be at his appointed place of duty, one specification of disobeying a lawful order not to consume alcohol, and one specification of previous overindulgence incapacitating him for the proper performance of his duties; his punishment included reduction to specialist/E-4 (suspended for six months) * 25 October 1988, one specification of operating a passenger car while drunk; his punishment included reduction to specialist/E-4 e. On 22 November 1988, he received a letter of reprimand for driving while drunk on 24 September 1988. f. On 3 February 1989, he received nonjudicial punishment for one specification of failure to be at his appointed place of duty and one specification of previous overindulgence incapacitating him for the proper performance of his duties. His punishment included reduction to private/E-2. g. The record is void of notification of separation or election of rights for the applicant. h. 1 March 1989, the applicant’s immediate commander initiated separation action against the applicant under the provisions of Chapter 14, Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel) for patterns of misconduct. The specific reasons for his initiation were based upon numerous article 15’s. The intermediate commander recommended he be issued a General Discharge Certificate. i. The Verbatim Findings and Recommendations of an administrative board noted the board considered the evidence and found that the applicant did engage in patterns of misconduct. They recommended he be discharged from the service with a general discharge. j. On 9 June 1989, consistent with the recommendations of the administrative board, the separation authority approved the discharge recommendation for immediate separation under the provisions of Chapter 14, AR 635-200, paragraph 14-12b for patterns of misconduct. He would be issued a General Discharge Certificate. k. On 2 August 1989, he was discharged from active duty with an general, under honorable conditions characterization of service. His DD Form 214 shows he completed 10 years, 7 months, and 5 days of active service with 2 years, 10 months, and 5 days of prior active service. It also shows he was awarded or authorized: * Army Service Ribbon * Overseas Service Ribbon (3rd Award) * Army Achievement Medal * Army Good Conduct Medal (3rd Award) * NCO Professional Development Ribbon * Army Commendation Medal * Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar l. Block 27 (Reenlistment Code) shows RE Code 4. m. On 6 November 1989, the applicant’s request for changes to his DD Form 214 were transferred for action and disposition from the Commander, U.S. Army Enlistment Eligibility Activity with a memorandum. n. An unsigned/undated letter was found in the service record of the applicant which stated the applicant was denied reenlistment by the DA Screening/Selection Board (S/SB) on 10 September 1987. Although he was discharged for misconduct which would usually have an RE Code 3, he was denied enlistment under the DAS/SB and that took precedence over the reason for his discharge. His DD Form 214 was coded correctly with RE 4 to indicate his ineligibility for further service in the RA. 5. There is no evidence the applicant has applied to the Army Discharge Review Board for review of his discharge within that board's 15-year statute of limitations. 6. By regulation (AR 635-200), action will be taken to separate a Soldier for misconduct, such as patterns of misconduct, when it is clearly established that despite attempts to rehabilitate or develop him or her as a satisfactory Soldier, further effort is unlikely to succeed. 7. By regulation (AR 635-5), the DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of all current active, prior active, and prior inactive duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. The information entered thereon reflects the conditions as they existed at the time of separation. 8. In reaching its determination, the Board can consider the applicant’s 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 found partial relief was warranted. Based upon the lengthy period of honorable service completed prior to the misconduct leading to the applicant’s separation, as well as the type of misconduct itself which led to the separation, the Board concluded that granting some clemency was warranted in an effort to assist the applicant in future endeavors. As a result, the Board recommended the following changes to the applicant’s DD Form 214: * Reflect the periods of honorable service completed by the applicant prior to the misconduct * Change the narrative reason for separation to simply “Misconduct” * Change the reentry code to RE-3 (RE-2 is no longer used) * Charge the separation authority to simply “AR 635-200” 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 28 December 1978 until 16 March 1987” * changing the Separation Authority (Item 25) to “AR 635-200” * changing the Reentry Code (Item 27) to “RE 3” * changing the Narrative Reason for Separation to “Misconduct” 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 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, sets forth the basic authority 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. Chapter 14 of the regulation states action will be taken to separate a Soldier for misconduct when it is clearly established that despite attempts to rehabilitate or develop him or her as a satisfactory Soldier, further effort is unlikely to succeed. 3. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) states the DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of all current active, prior active, and prior inactive duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. The information entered thereon reflects the conditions as they existed at the time of separation. 4. Army Regulation 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). 5. 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 (BCM/NRs) regarding equity, injustice, or clemency determinations. Clemency generally refers to relief specifically granted from a criminal sentence. BCM/NRs may grant clemency regardless of the type of court- martial. However, the guidance applies to more than clemency from a sentencing in a court-martial; it also applies to other corrections, including changes in a discharge, which may be warranted based on equity or relief from injustice. This 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 based on equity, injustice, or clemency grounds, BCM/NRs shall consider the prospect for rehabilitation, external evidence, sworn testimony, policy changes, relative severity of misconduct, mental and behavioral health conditions, official governmental acknowledgement that a relevant error or injustice was committed, and uniformity of punishment. Changes to the narrative reason for discharge and/or an upgraded character of service granted solely on equity, injustice, or clemency grounds normally should not result in separation pay, retroactive promotions, and payment of past medical expenses or similar benefits that might have been received if the original discharge had been for the revised reason or had the upgraded service characterization. NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170015552 7 1