APPLICANT REQUESTS: That her general court-martial conviction be overturned and that she be issued a general discharge.
APPLICANT STATES: Through counsel, in effect, that she was never qualified to be a soldier and should not have been enlisted in the first place; that she did not intentionally issue checks with insufficient funds in her account to cover those checks; that absent without leave (AWOL) charges against her were trumped up.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
She was born on 29 March 1970 and enlisted in the Regular Army for 5 years on 2 October 1989. Following completion of basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, she was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia, where she was trained as a communication security (COMSEC) equipment repairer. After successfully completing all military training, she was assigned to a unit at Fort Carson, Colorado, on 29 June 1990, with duty as a COMSEC repairer.
The applicant was a disciplinary problem at Fort Carson. On 28 August 1990, she accepted a field grade nonjudicial punishment (NJP) under Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice, for being AWOL from 16-19 July 1990,
1-3 August 1990, and 16-27 August 1990. She was reduced from Private (E-2) to Private (E-1), made to forfeit $200 per month for 2 months, restricted to the unit area for 45 days, and given extra duty for 45 days.
The applicants behavior did not improve. She failed to repair on 5 September 1990 and 12 September 1990, and broke restriction and failed to repair on 11 September 1990. She was AWOL from 5-9 October 1990, 20-23 October 1990, and 24 October through 1 November 1990. Also during this time, it was learned that she had misappropriated a rental car by failing to return it and that she had presented numerous checks, many written to the Post Exchange, which were returned for insufficient funds.
On 1 November 1990, the applicant was placed in pre-trial confinement and general court-martial charges were preferred against her for the above offenses and others. She was given medical and psychological tests which determined that she was qualified for separation and free from mental disease or defect which would impair her ability to distinguish right from wrong. In a pre-trial agreement, fully concurred in by her military and civilian defense counsels, she pleaded guilty to the above charges in return for a sentence no greater than a dishonorable discharge, confinement for 18 months, total forfeiture all pay and allowances, and a fine. The pre-trial agreement was accepted and in accordance with her pleas, she was convicted on 12 February 1991 and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for 7 months, and forfeiture of $475 per month for 7 months. Later, upon review, the sentence was reduced by the Court of Military Review to a bad conduct discharge, 146 days of confinement, and forfeiture of $475 per month for 7 months. The applicant served her sentence to confinement and was placed on excess leave pending completion of all appellate action on her case. On 10 January 1992, the United States Court of Military Appeals denied the applicants petition for grant of review. Her bad conduct discharge was executed on 26 February 1992. She had 1 year, 10 months, and 23 days of creditable service and 184 days of lost time due to AWOL and confinement.
During her court-martial, the applicants attorneys presented evidence which appears to show that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service collected money from the applicants military pay to repay the Post Exchange system and that the applicants father repaid the Post Exchange system as well.
The Military Justice Act of 1983 (Public Law 98-209), provides, in pertinent part, that military correction boards may not disturb the finality of a conviction by court-martial.
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 was fully qualified for military service.
2. The applicant pleaded guilty to intentionally uttering worthless checks and stated that she knew that she did not have sufficient funds in her checking account to cover the checks which she had written.
3. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service appropriately withheld the applicants military pay to satisfy her indebtedness to the Post Exchange system. That her father also may have reimbursed the Post Exchange system is not a matter for this Board to resolve.
4. In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.
5. 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
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