RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            28 September 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20060003502


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul Smith                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Alice Muellerweiss            |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his undesirable discharge be upgraded to
honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was 17 years of age when he
was deployed to Vietnam and that he performed honorably after his return
from Vietnam.  He goes on to state that while stationed at Fort Gordon,
Georgia, he sought medical attention for post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) prior to any of the incidents that led to his discharge.  He goes on
to state that he was told by a psychiatrist that his only problem was his
nerves and it was only after he was denied help that his negative behavior
began.  He continues by stating that he has been diagnosed by the
Department of Veterans Affairs with chronic PTSD and contends that he
should receive an honorable discharge because his discharge under other
than honorable conditions was the result of his psychological condition at
the time.

3.  The applicant provides no additional documents with his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which
occurred on 4 September 1969.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 1 March 2006.

2.  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.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant was born on 20 June 1947 and enlisted with parental
consent in Ashland, Kentucky, on 22 July 1964, for a period of 3 years.  He
was single at the time of his enlistment.  He completed his basic combat
training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was transferred to Fort Lewis,
Washington to undergo his training as an infantryman.  He was awarded the
military occupational specialty of a light weapons infantryman on 10
December 1964 and was advanced to the pay grade of E-3 on 23 March 1965.


4.  On 11 May 1965, he was transferred to Vietnam and was assigned to the
Military Assistance Command – Vietnam (MAC-V) for duty as a security guard
with II Corps Advisory Group in Ban Me Thuot, located in the central
highlands of South Vietnam.  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on 17
November 1965 and served in Vietnam until 10 May 1966, when he was
transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia.

5.  On 24 July 1966, he was honorably discharged for the purpose of
immediate reenlistment.  On 25 July 1966, he reenlisted for a period of 6
years and a variable reenlistment bonus (VRB).

6.  On 7 September 1966, nonjudicial punishment was imposed against him for
failure to go to his place of duty.  His punishment consisted of a
forfeiture of pay.

7.  The applicant went absent without leave on 2 November 1966 and remained
absent until he was apprehended in Augusta, Georgia on 28 November 1966 and
was returned to military control at Fort Gordon.  He again departed AWOL on
30 November 1966 and remained absent in a deserter status until he was
again returned to military control on 21 August 1967 and charges were
preferred against him for the AWOL offenses.

8.  On 18 October 1967, he was convicted, pursuant to his pleas, by a
general court-martial of being AWOL from 2 November to 28 November 1966 and
from 30 November 1966 to 21 August 1967.  He was sentenced to confinement
at hard labor for 10 months (suspended until 18 August 1968, unless sooner
vacated), reduction to the pay grade of E-1 and a forfeiture of pay.

9.  On 2 March 1968, he was transferred to Germany and was assigned to a
mechanized infantry battalion in Baumholder.  He indicated at the time of
his arrival that he was married with two children.  He was advanced to the
pay grade of E-2 on 6 May 1968 and to the pay grade of E-3 on 19 July 1968.

10.  On 16 October 1968, NJP was imposed against him for failure to go to
his place of duty.  His punishment consisted of a reduction to the pay
grade of E-2, a forfeiture of pay, extra duty and restriction.

11.  The applicant departed Germany on 8 March 1969 with orders directing
him to report to the Overseas Replacement Detachment at Oakland Army Base,
California, on 19 March 1969.  The applicant failed to report as ordered
and remained absent until he was again returned to military control at Fort
Gordon on 24 June 1969, where charges were preferred against him.

12.  He was convicted, pursuant to his plea, by a special court-martial on
28 July 1969 of being AWOL from 16 March to 24 June 1969.  He was sentenced
to confinement at hard labor for 6 months, a forfeiture of pay and
reduction to the pay grade of E-1.

13.  The applicant underwent a mental status evaluation on 6 August 1969
and was found mentally responsible, able to distinguish right from wrong
and to adhere to the right.  He was deemed to have no psychiatric disease
and was cleared for administrative separation.

14.  On 11 August 1969, the applicant’s commander initiated action to
separate him from the service under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-
212 for unfitness due to his frequent involvement in incidents of a
discreditable nature with military authorities.  After consulting with
military counsel the applicant waived all of his rights.

15.  The appropriate authority (a major general) approved the
recommendation for separation on 27 August 1969 and directed that he be
furnished an Undesirable Discharge Certificate.

16.  Accordingly, he was discharged under other than honorable conditions
on 4 September 1969, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-212, for
unfitness due to his frequent involvement in incidents of a discreditable
nature with military authorities.  He had served 3 years, 7 months and 12
days of total active service and had 550 days of lost time due to AWOL and
confinement.

17.  He applied to the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) on 5 September
1973 for an upgrade of his discharge.  He contended at that time that his
misconduct was minor, that he had personal problems at the time, that his
conduct was excellent and that given his 5 years of service, he should have
received an honorable discharge.  On 11 December 1973, the ADRB determined
that his discharge was both proper and equitable under the circumstances
and voted to deny his request for an upgrade.

18.  Army Regulation 635-212, in effect at the time, set forth the basic
authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  It provided, in
pertinent part, that members involved in frequent incidents of a
discreditable nature with civil and/or military authorities, established
pattern for shirking, established pattern of failure to pay just debts,
drug addiction, failure to support dependents and lewd or indecent acts
were subject to separation for unfitness.  An undesirable discharge was
normally considered appropriate.

19.  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.  The U.S. Court of Appeals, observing
that applicants to the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) are by statute
allowed 15 years to apply there, and that this Board's exhaustion
requirement (Army Regulation 15-185, paragraph 2-8), effectively shortens
that filing period, has determined that the 3 year limit on filing to the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) should commence on
the date of final action by the ADRB.  In complying with this decision, the
ABCMR has adopted the broader policy of calculating the 3-year time limit
from the date of exhaustion in any case where a lower level administrative
remedy is utilized.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's administrative separation was accomplished in
compliance with applicable regulations with no indication of procedural
errors which would tend to jeopardize his rights.

2.  Accordingly, the type of discharge directed and the reasons therefore
were appropriate under the circumstances.

3.  The applicant’s contentions have been noted by the Board; however, they
are also not sufficiently mitigating to warrant relief when compared to his
misconduct and his otherwise undistinguished record of service.

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 this requirement.

5.  Records show the applicant exhausted his administrative remedies in
this case when his case was last reviewed by the ADRB on 11 December 1973.
As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of
any error or injustice to this Board expired on 10 December 1976.  The
applicant did not file within the ABCMR's 3-year statute of limitations and
has not provided compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would
be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this
case.





BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____LS__  ___PS __  ___AM _  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board
determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis
for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  _____Linda Simmons______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060003502                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |19690904                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(UD)                                    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1969/09/04                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR635-212 . . . . .                     |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |UNFIT                                   |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY)                                  |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES                  |583/A51.00                              |
|1.144.5000              |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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