ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 July 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170016597 APPLICANT REQUESTS: an upgrade of his bad conduct discharge to honorable. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States). 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 would like his bad conduct discharge upgraded to honorable. He made a mistake, he was young in his military career and does not want the mistake to haunt him for the rest of his life and his civilian career. 3. A review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 31 July 1979. b. He served in Germany from 8 April 1981 to 7 October 1982. c. He received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) under Article 15 on: * 8 July 1980, for being absent without leave (AWOL) from 23 to 24 June 1980 * 17 September 1980, for being AWOL from 10 to 12 September 1980 * 12 January 1981, for being AWOL from 15 to 22 December 1980 d. On 8 October 1982, he was convicted by a general court-martial for one specification of conspiracy to commit larceny of lawful currency of the United States, a value of about $960.00. His sentence included reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, forfeiture of $367.00 per month for four months, confinement for four months, and a bad conduct discharge. e. On 29 December 1982, the convening authority approved the sentence and except for the bad conduct discharge, ordered it executed. The record of trial was forwarded to the Judge Advocate General of the Army for appellate review. f. General Court-Martial Order Number 359, dated 16 September 1983, after Article 71(c) was complied with and the sentence was affirmed, ordered the bad conduct discharge executed. g. On 18 October 1983, he was discharged from active duty with a bad conduct discharge characterization of service as a result of his general court martial conviction in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), chapter 3. His DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows he completed 3 years, 11 months, and 13 days of active service with 10 days of lost time. It also shows he was awarded or authorized the Army Service Ribbon. 4. By regulation, a member will be given a bad conduct discharge pursuant only to an approved sentence of a general or special court-martial. The appellate review must be completed and the affirmed sentence ordered duly executed. 5. 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 review of the application and all evidence, the Board determined relief is not warranted. The applicant’s contentions were carefully considered. The Board applied Department of Defense standards of liberal consideration to the complete evidentiary record and did not find any evidence of error, injustice, or inequity. He did not provide character witness statements or evidence of post-service achievements for the Board to consider. Based upon the pattern of misconduct, as well as some misconduct involving a large larceny offense, as well as the failure to accept responsibility and show remorse for the events leading to his separation, the Board agreed that the applicant's discharge characterization was warranted as a result of the misconduct. 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. 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, 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 the 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 3-11 (DD Form 259A (Bad Conduct Discharge Certificate) states a member will be given a bad conduct discharge pursuant only to an approved sentence of a general or special court-martial. The appellate review must be completed and the affirmed sentence ordered duly executed. 3. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552, provides that the Secretary of a Military Department may correct any military record of the Secretary’s Department when the Secretary considers it necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice. With respect to records of courts-martial and related administrative records pertaining to court-martial cases tried or reviewed under the UCMJ, action to correct any military record of the Secretary’s Department may extend only to correction of a record to reflect actions taken by reviewing authorities under the UCMJ or action on the sentence of a court-martial for purposes of clemency. Such corrections shall be made by the Secretary acting through boards of civilians of the executive part of that Military Department. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170016597 4 1