RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 February 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060008604


      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             |
|     |Ms. Judy L. Blanchard             |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Mark D. Manning               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Qawiy A. Sabree               |     |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, in effect, an upgrade of his Bad Conduct
Discharge (BCD).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was 17 years old, very
immature and impressionable.  He further states, that he is a family man
now with a wife and three sons.  He is also a Pastor who loves the Lord and
his people.  He is deeply sorry and his life has changed for the better of
mankind.

3.  The applicant provides six letters of support and two certificates for
the gospel ministry in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 16 May 1977, the date he was released from active duty.
The application submitted in this case was received on 6 June 2006.

2.  On 25 September 1973, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for a
period of 3 years, with parental consent, because the applicant was 17
years old at the time of enlistment.  He completed the required training
and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 72B
(Telecommunication Center Specialist).  The highest grade he attained was
pay grade E-3.

3.  On 11 December 1974, the applicant accepted nonjudicial punishment
(NJP), Under Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), for the wrongful
possession of 3.83 grams more or less of Marijuana.  His imposed punishment
was a reduction to pay grade E-2, a forfeiture of $100.00 pay per month for
2 months (suspended for 4 months) and 21 days in Correctional Custody
(suspended for 10 days).

4.  On 25 August 1975, the applicant accepted NJP for two incidents of
failure to go at the prescribed time to his appointed place of duty.  His
imposed punishment was a forfeiture of $50.00 pay.

5.  On 2 July 1976, the applicant was convicted at a Special Court-Martial
convened by Headquarters U.S. Army Infantry Center and Fort Benning,
Georgia, of stealing a rifle, 5.56 mm M16A1, of a value of about $142.00,
the property of the U.S. government.  He was sentenced to a Bad Conduct
Discharge.  On 22 September 1976, the convening authority approved the
sentence and the record of trial was forwarded to The Judge Advocate
General of the Army for review by the Army Court of Military Review.
6. The United States Army Court of Military Review affirmed the sentence
and the finding of guilty and ordered it duly executed.  The applicant
petitioned the United States Court of Military Appeals for a grant of
review.  On 25 April 1977, The United States Court of Military Appeals
denied his petition for a grant of review.

7.  On 16 May 1977, the applicant was discharged under the provisions of
Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 11, as a result of a court-martial, with a
BCD Certificate.  He had completed 3 years, 6 months, and 4 days of
creditable active military service and 49 days of time lost.  The applicant
was retained in service for the convenience of the government for 185 days.


8.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the
separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 3, in effect at the time,
provided the policies and procedures for separating members with a
dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.  It stipulated that a Soldier would
be given a bad conduct discharge pursuant only to an approved sentence of a
general or special court-martial and that the appellate review must be
completed and the affirmed sentence ordered duly executed.

9.  Title 10 of the United States Code, section 1552 as amended, does not
permit any redress by this Board of the finality of a court-martial
conviction and empowers the Board to only change a discharge if clemency is
determined to be appropriate.

10.  On 14 March 1979, the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) denied the
applicant’s request for an upgrade of his discharge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contentions that his discharge should be upgraded
because he was young, immature, and impressionable were carefully
considered and found to be insufficient evidence in supporting his request.
 The applicant’s record shows that he was 20 years of age at the time of
the offense.  There is no evidence that indicates that he was any less
mature than any other Soldier of the same age who successfully completed
military service.

2.  The applicant’s contentions regarding his good post service conduct and
achievements were carefully considered.  The applicant’s good post service
conduct is commendable, but is not so meritorious as to warrant an upgrade
of his discharge.

3.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant’s trial by court-martial
was warranted by the gravity of the offense for which he was charged.
Conviction and discharge were effected in accordance with applicable law
and regulations and his rights were protected throughout the court-martial
process.  There is no credible evidence in the applicant’s record, nor has
he presented any evidence, to warrant the requested relief based on error
or injustice in the court-martial process.

4.  After a thorough and comprehensive review of the applicant’s military
service record, it is concluded that based on the seriousness of the
offense for which he was convicted, clemency would not be appropriate in
this case.

5.  By law, any redress by this Board of the finality of a court-martial
conviction is prohibited.  The Board is only empowered to change a
discharge if clemency is determined to be appropriate to moderate the
severity of the sentence imposed.

6.  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.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___MDM _  __JTM__  __QAS __  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.





                                  _____Mark D. Manning_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR                                      |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |2007/02/22                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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