APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That the nonjudicial punishment (NJP) he received for being absent without leave (AWOL) for the period 8-10 February 1968 be removed from his service records.  He states that he was attempting to return to his unit in Anchorage, Alaska, but bad weather forced him to remain in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was billeted at an Air Force Base until the weather cleared.

PURPOSE:  To determine whether the application was submitted within the time limit established by law, and if not, whether it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He was born on 12 September 1949 and enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 6 January 1967.  Following completion of the required military training, he was assigned to a unit in Alaska, with duty as a Hercules missile crewman.

There is a DA Form 2627-1, Record of Proceedings Under Article 15, UCMJ, dated 26 January 1968, in the applicant’s records for being AWOL during the period 8-10 January 1968 while assigned to a Hercules missile battalion in Alaska.  The applicant accepted the NJP and offered no explanation or matters in extenuation and mitigation.

The applicant’s flaunting of rules and authority was not an isolated incident.  He received three other NJP’s during his enlistment.  On 26 October 1968, he was punished for carrying a concealed weapon (a survival knife) and being in an off limits area in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam.  On 7 December 1968, he was punished for dereliction of duty, and on 16 July 1969, he was punished for violating a lawful general regulation by being in Saigon without proper authority.

The applicant was honorably discharged on 12 August 1969.  He had 2 years, 7 months, and 4 days of creditable service and 3 days of lost time due to AWOL.

Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  Failure to file within 3 years may be excused by a correction board if it finds it would be in the interest of justice to do so.

In the processing of this case, a staff advisory opinion (COPY ATTACHED) was obtained from the Headquarters, Department of the Army Policy Coordination Office.  It contains no information, advice or recommendation which would constitute a basis for granting the relief requested or for excusing the applicant's failure to timely file.

DISCUSSION:  The alleged error or injustice was, or with reasonable diligence should have been discovered on 26 January 1968, the date of imposition of the NJP.  The time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 26 January 1971.

The application is dated 17 July 1993 and the applicant has not explained or otherwise satisfactorily demonstrated by competent evidence that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to apply within the time allotted.

DETERMINATION:  The subject application was not submitted within the time required.  The applicant has not presented and the records do not contain sufficient justification to conclude that it would be in the interest of justice to grant the relief requested or to excuse the failure to file within the time prescribed by law.

BOARD VOTE:

                      EXCUSE FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE

                      GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                      CONCUR WITH DETERMINATION




		Karl F. Schneider
		Acting Director