| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti | Analyst |
| Mr. John N. Slone | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Richard T. Dunbar | Member | |
| Mr. Donald P. Hupman | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That his undesirable discharge be upgraded.
APPLICANT STATES: He felt helpless in front of the high-ranking officers who were presiding over his discharge process. He had no defense for his actions and no defense was offered in his behalf by the Government. He continues that he was never told what type of discharge he would receive if he requested discharge, and contends that he would have stayed in the Army if he had known he would receive anything less than an honorable discharge.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
He enlisted on 8 August 1977, was awarded the military occupational specialty of cook, and was promoted to pay grade E-2.
On 14 April 1978 court-martial charges were preferred against the applicant for being AWOL from 18 February to 11 April 1978.
On 17 April 1978 the applicant requested discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial for the good of the service. In that request he admitted guilt to the court-martial charge preferred against him, and acknowledged that “. . . under no circumstances do I desire further rehabilitation, for I have no desire to perform further military service . . . I understand that, if my request for discharge is accepted, I may be discharged under other than honorable conditions . . .” The applicant did submit matters of mitigation to the court-martial convening authority in a letter in which he stated that his girlfriend was very sick and could die anytime. He believed that his place was with her during her illness.
The applicant’s request for discharge was accepted and he was issued an Under Other Than Honorable Discharge Certificate on 27 June 1978. He had 8 months and 28 days of creditable service and 51 days of lost time.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1. There was no requirement or reason for the Army to provide the applicant any defense. He had admitted guilt to the offense in order to request an administrative discharge. The Army would only have been required to provide the applicant a defense counsel if his request for discharge had been rejected and he was referred to trial by court-martial.
2. The applicant’s contention that he was never told what type of discharge he would receive if he requested discharge is contradicted by his signature on his request for discharge which plainly tells him that he could receive an under other than honorable discharge.
3. The applicant was AWOL almost 2 months, an offense which would warrant a punitive discharge under the UCMJ. While the applicant had made a statement at the time that he had gone AWOL because of the illness of his girlfriend, he chose not to present that defense at a trial by court-martial wherein he could have been sentenced to time in confinement. That he now regrets that choice is unfortunate.
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
___jns___ ____rtd__ ___dph__ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010828 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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