IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 11 January 2022 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20210013406 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his service was characterized as 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), dated 31 March 2021 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three-year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. 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: a. Following basic training and advance individual training, he was scheduled for overseas assignment to Korea. His pregnant wife refused to relocate to Korea and threated to have their first son aborted and initiate separation proceedings if he departed for Korea. b. He was willing to comply with the assignment orders, went through counseling with a chaplain and his chain of command. At the time of his separation, he was recommended for a family hardship separation. No one informed him that his separation was going to be a discharge for entry level conduct. He was never counseled and never received any disciplinary action for conduct during his period of active duty. c. It was not until later that he discovered this error or injustice. He divorced his first wife and his son alive, well, and happy and he has remarried and has two sons. He requests his case be evaluated since it was his honor and he is proud to have served, even if he could not have completed his full term of military service. 3. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 31 May 1984. 4. The applicant received general counseling on several occasions between 16 August and 24 August 1984, for failure of his initial enlisted training course testing and his proposed separation under the Trainee Discharge Program. The primary reason for his counseling was due to his test failures based on his poor comprehension of the English language. 5. The applicant's immediate commander notified the applicant on 5 September 1984 of his intent to initiate actions to separate the applicant under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), Chapter 11 (Trainee Discharge Program) due to the applicant's failure to meet the standards for completion of a military occupational specialty (MOS) due to a lack of aptitude. 6. After consulting with counsel, the applicant acknowledged the proposed separation notification on 5 September 1984. He waived his rights to have a separation medical examination and to submit a statement in his own behalf. 7. The applicant's immediate commander formally recommended the applicant's separation from service on 7 September 1984, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 11-3a. 8. The separation authority waived the recycle requirements and approved the recommended discharge on 10 September 1984. He directed the applicant be released from active duty and transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve, with separation code "LGA." 9. The applicant was discharged on 15 August 1984. The DD Form 214 he was issued shows he was discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 11-3a, for entry level status performance and conduct, and his service was characterized as "Entry Level Status." He had three months and 15 days of active duty service and was not awarded an MOS. 10. The applicant's record documents no acts of valor, significant achievement, or service warranting special recognition. 11. The applicant has not provided and the available record does contain any evidence that he received orders to Korea or was considered for a hardship discharge. 12. The Board should consider the applicant's statement in accordance with the published equity, injustice, or clemency determination guidance. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence found within the military record, the Board found that relief was not warranted. The applicant’s contentions, the military record, and regulatory guidance were carefully considered. Board members noted the applicant did not complete initial entry training and was not awarded an MOS. He was separated with less than 180 days of active service and was assigned an uncharacterized discharge. Board members found no error or injustice and voted to deny relief. 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 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 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. 3. Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. The version in effect at the time provided that: a. 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. 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. A characterization of under honorable conditions may be issued only when the reason for the Soldier’s separation specifically allows such characterization. c. Paragraph 11-3a provided for the separation of personnel in an entry level status for unsatisfactory performance or conduct as evidenced by inability, lack of reasonable effort or a failure to adapt to the military environment. These provisions applied only to individuals whose separation processing is started within 180 days of entry into active duty. An uncharacterized separation was mandatory under this provision. 4. The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness issued guidance to Service Discharge Review Boards and Service Boards for Correction of Military/Navel Records, on 25 July 2018 [Wilkie Memorandum], 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-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. a. 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, Boards 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. b. 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.) AR20210013406 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1