ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 19 April 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170016116 APPLICANT REQUESTS: an upgrade of her discharge from general to honorable APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Self-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, the incident that led to her separation was a single, unfortunate, and innocent offense; however, she never abused drugs. Attached is a summarization of the occurrence and she hopes that her request for an upgrade will be approved, based upon her testimony. 3. The applicant provides the following self-authored statement: a. After returning from a 10-month deployment to Haiti, she was on leave to see her husband in New York. She knew it was going to be a difficult drive to make alone, so a friend told her that he had energy pills that would help keep her awake. It was later noted that the pills were Ritalin. b. She was a model Soldier who had no other instances of misconduct and her chain of command knew that it was not a purposeful event of knowingly taking or abusing drugs. The command asked her to consider staying in the Army, but at the time she made the decision to separate. She was reduced in rank and could not afford to stay, so the better option was to return to school and civilian life. c. She was advised that her discharge would be upgraded after six months. In addition, she is a successful woman that works in field of research and is proud of her time in the military. She had hoped to reenlist, but was never able to do so, and now she is too old. 4. The applicant: * enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 February 1995 * was identified as having tested positive for methamphetamines during an urinalysis conducted on 20 August 1996 * accepted nonjudicial punishment (NJP) on 21 November 1996 for wrongfully using some amount of methamphetamines, a controlled substance on or between 16 and 20 August 1996 and was reduced to the grade Private (E-2) * was notified of initiation of separation proceedings on 25 February 1997 for testing positive for methamphetamines on 20 August 1996 * waived her right to consult with legal counsel on 25 February 1997 5. The separation authority approved the applicant's discharge on 28 February 1997, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 14-12(c), and directed that she be issued a general under honorable conditions discharge. 6. The applicant was discharged on 11 Mar 1997. 7. The Board should consider the applicant's self-authored statement 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 relief was warranted. Based upon the two years of service completed and the discharge resulting from a single event over that two year period, as well as the applicant's self-authored statement which, in the Board’s opinion, mitigates the misconduct when considering the published guidance equity, injustice, or clemency, the Board concluded that upgrading the discharge characterization to Honorable was appropriate. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 X X X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by reissuing the applicant a DD Form 214 showing his characterization of service as Honorable. 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 635-200 (Personnel Separations - Enlisted Personnel), sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. a. Paragraph 3-7a states an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law. 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 states a general discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions. When authorized, it is issued to a Soldier whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. c. Chapter 14, of the version in effect at the time, established policy and prescribed procedures for separating members for misconduct. Specific categories included minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, commission of a serious offense, and convictions by civil authorities. It provided that action would be taken to separate a member for misconduct when it was clearly established that rehabilitation was impracticable or was unlikely to succeed. A general discharge was normally appropriate for a Soldier discharged under this chapter. However, the separation authority could direct an honorable discharge if merited by the Soldier's overall record. 3. The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness issued guidance to Military Discharge review Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records on 25 July 2018, regarding equity, injustice, or clemency determinations. Clemency generally refers to relief specifically granted from a criminal sentence. Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records 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 a discharge, which may be warranted on equity or relief from injustice grounds. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170016116 3 1