ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 23 July 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180009133 APPLICANT REQUESTS: an upgrade of his under other than honorable conditions discharge to honorable APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) FACTS: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20150000792 on 11 August 2015. 2. The applicant states during his period of service he was a model soldier that received several awards He believes it is an injustice considering his five years of service and one incident caused him to receive an other than honorable discharge. He has been a model citizen and working in the community with children trying to ensure that they have a strong figure in their life and not make mistakes that could last a life time. 4. A review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 December 1986 for a period of 3 years. He was honorably discharged on 30 November 1989 for immediate reenlistment. He reenlisted on 1 December 1989 for a period of 5 years. b. He served in Germany from 3 July 1987 to 2 July 1990 and Saudi Arabia from 6 October 1990 to 26 April 1991. c. The complete facts and circumstances surrounding his discharge are not available to the Board for review. However his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release) shows he was discharged on 15 November 1991 under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), Chapter 10, for the good of the service with an under other than honorable conditions character of service and reduce to the lowest grade of Private/E-1. He completed 4 years, 10 months and 17 days of net active service. 5. There is no evidence that the applicant applied to the Army Discharge Review Board for an update of his discharge. 6. By regulation, a member who has committed an offense or offenses, the punishment for any of which includes a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge may submit a request for discharge for the good of the service. 7. The Board should 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 determined that relief was not warranted. Based upon the available documentary evidence, the Board concluded there was insufficient evidence or an error or injustice 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 214 and recommended that change be completed to more accurately depict his 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 29 December 1986 until 30 November 1989.” 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, 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 soldier’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 in appropriate. 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 soldier 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. Chapter 10 of this regulation states an individual who has committed an offense or offenses, the punishment for which, includes a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, may submit a request for discharge for the good of the service. 3. 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 (BCMNRs) 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 court-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 on the basis of 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. AR 635-200, in effect at the time, sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180009133 0 3 1