APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That his bad conduct discharge (BCD) be upgraded to an honorable discharge.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was not notified of his sister’s death and when he later found out about it, he went AWOL.

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

He was inducted on 15 August 1962 and was discharged with a BCD pursuant to the sentence of a general court-martial (GCM) on 6 February 1965.  He accumulated 610 days of lost time as a result of AWOL’s and confinements.

The record reflects that the applicant accepted nonjudicial punishment under the provisions of Article 15, UCMJ on three occasions in March and April of 1963 for being late to duty, having a dirty weapon and being drunk in public.  In March 1963, he was also convicted by a summary court-martial for being AWOL.

On 12 October 1964 he was convicted by a GCM of two episodes of AWOL of 62 and 349 days, respectively.  He was found guilty and sentenced to a BCD, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement at hard labor for 1 year.  The confinement portion of the sentence was later modified to indicate 6 months instead of 1 year.

After review, the sentence was affirmed and ordered executed.  On 10 February 1965 the unexecuted portion of the sentence to confinement was remitted and the applicant was released on parole.

Information obtained during a prisoner’s admission summary at the US Disciplinary Barracks indicates that the reasons for his AWOL’s were due to illness of his wife and father.  It was noted that both periods of AWOL for which he received a GCM were terminated by apprehension by civil authorities. It was also noted that while he was confined in the stockade at Fort Knox, Kentucky in July 1964 his older sister was killed in a fire and he was not notified of her death until after she was buried.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The applicant’s numerous acts of indiscipline during a relatively short period of service and his apparent intention to remain away, as shown by his apprehension rather than voluntary return to duty, indicate that the discharge appropriately characterizes his conduct while in the service.

2.  His contention that his failure to be notified of the death of his sister was the cause of his AWOL is not supported by the facts.  The record indicates that at the time, he was already in pre-trial confinement for two extensive periods of AWOL for which he eventually received a GCM.

3.  While he may have had family problems that required his presence, the record does not reflect that he ever attempted to deal with these problems in an appropriate manner through the system.  Rather, it appears that his solution was to simply leave when he believed it necessary.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant’s request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT          

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION




						Karl F. Schneider
						Acting Director