RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            30 November 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20060007630


      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:

|     |Mr. William Crain                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Alice Muellerweiss            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Donald Lewy                   |     |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 discharge under other than honorable
conditions be upgraded to honorable.

2.  The applicant states that he was 18 years of age when he enlisted and
that he made mistakes that he now wishes to pay for by re-entering the
Army.  He further states that he went absent without leave (AWOL) and when
he returned he told officials that he came back to serve and that he would
accept any punishment; however, he was given a discharge under other than
honorable conditions.  He also states that he wanted to join the Army to be
a photographer and was told that he had to be a cannon crewman at least
until after he finished basic training; however, after he finished basic
training he was told that he could not change his military occupational
specialty (MOS).

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his photograph with his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which
occurred on 6 January 1988.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 17 May 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 enlisted in Chicago, Illinois, on 15 September 1986 for a
period of 3 years, airborne training and training as a field artillery
cannon crewmember.  He indicated at the time of his enlistment that his
contract correctly specified all promises made to him regarding his
training.

4.  He completed his one-station unit training (OSUT) at Fort Sill,
Oklahoma and his airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, before being
assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

5.  On 22 April 1987, nonjudicial punishment (NJP) was imposed against him
for being AWOL from 17 March to 7 April 1987.  His punishment consisted of
a forfeiture of pay and extra duty.

6.  He again went AWOL on 1 May 1987 and remained absent in desertion
status until he was returned to military control at Fort Ord, California on
6 June 1987, where charges were preferred against him for the AWOL offense.


7.  The facts and circumstances surrounding his administrative discharge
are not present in the available records.  However, his records do contain
a duly constituted report of separation (DD Form 214) which shows that he
was discharged under other than honorable conditions on 6 January 1988,
under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10, in lieu of
trial by             court-martial.  He had served 1 year, 2 months, and 7
days of total active service and had 45 days of lost time due to AWOL.

8.  There is no evidence in the available records to show that he ever
applied to the Army Discharge Review Board for an upgrade of his discharge
within that board's 15-year statute of limitations.

9.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the
separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 10 of the regulation provides,
in pertinent part, that a member who has committed an offense or offenses
for which the authorized punishment includes a punitive discharge may at
any time after charges have been preferred, submit a request for discharge
for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial.  A condition
of submitting such a request is that the individual concerned must admit
guilt to the charges against them or of a lesser included offense which
authorizes the imposition of a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge and
they must indicate that they have been briefed and understand the
consequences of such a request as well as the discharge they might receive.
 A discharge under other than honorable conditions was then and still is
normally considered appropriate.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be presumed that
the applicant's voluntary request for separation under the provisions of
Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10, for the good of the service to avoid
trial by court-martial, was administratively correct and in conformance
with applicable regulations.

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

3.  After being afforded the opportunity to assert his innocence before a
trial by court-martial, he voluntarily requested a discharge for the good
of the service in hopes of avoiding a punitive discharge and having a
felony conviction on his records.

4.  The applicant's contentions and his overall record of service have been
considered.  However, they are not sufficiently mitigating to warrant
relief when compared to his undistinguished record of service.  His service
simply does not rise to the level of a general discharge.

5.  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.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 6 January 1988; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on
5 January 1991.  The applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of
limitations and has not provided a 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

__WC___  ___AM __  ___DL __  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.




                                  ______William Crain_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060007630                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061130                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(UOTHC)                                 |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1988/01/06                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR635-200/ch10 . . . . .                |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Gd of svc                               |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY)                                  |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES         1.       |689/a70.00                              |
|144.7000                |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]