IN THE CASE OF: 

		BOARD DATE:	  15 July 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130018249 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests an upgrade of her under other than honorable conditions discharge.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  She was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, without her family.  She was a loner and stayed mostly to herself.  One day she bought a 6-pack of beer to help her with her feelings of loneliness and missing her family and children.  She began to drink until she passed out and eventually one 6-pack of beer would not give her the same results so she started drinking two 6-packs of beer.  She did this for a while until the beer was making her physically sick.  She started using beer, marijuana, and cocaine to take all her bad feelings away.

	b.  She was tested for drugs and the results came back positive.  She was offered rehabilitation which she accepted and afterwards she started attending narcotics anonymous meetings.  She was eventually given permission to get an apartment and the Army helped furnish it.  She furnished her apartment with the intent of bringing her two children to Germany; however, it seemed like it was taking forever for them to come.  She began looking at their rooms for long periods of time and when the pain got really bad she started buying bottles of beer; plenty of them to drown out her thoughts.  She had 25 or 30 empty bottles of beer in her kitchen and she was scared to throw them out so she never threw any away and just accumulated more and more.

	c.  She stared using cocaine again because it helped stop the feelings she had and after a while she could not pay her rent anymore because she needed money to support her habit.  Her landlord contacted the Army and she was forced to move back on base.  She started going back to narcotics meetings and eventually went back to drinking beer and using cocaine.  She went absent without leave (AWOL) and instead of going back to the base she chose to be homeless, sleeping outside in the parks or wherever her drug use took her.

	d.  She was eventually picked up by the German police who turned her over to military police.  She stayed on base for a short time and then she went AWOL again and remained a homeless drug addict until she went home to her family.  She started drinking and using drugs to celebrate and after a while she thought about what she was doing and realized she didn't want to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder so she turned herself in at Fort Dix, NJ, and she was eventually discharged.
   
   e.  She continued to drink, use drugs, and became homeless once again until she put herself into a recovery house in Philadelphia.  On 26 February 2013, she celebrated 16 years of being clean and sober.  She now has custody of her two grandchildren, ages 12 and 10, and she is not the same person.

3.  The applicant provides:

* self-authored statements 
* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 January 1991.

3.  A DA Form 4187-E (Personnel Action), dated 13 July 1992, shows her status changed from present for duty to absent without leave (AWOL) on 9 July 1992.

4.  On 8 August 1992, she was dropped from the rolls.

5.  On 21 July 1993, her status changed from dropped from the rolls to present for duty.

6.  On 27 July 1993, the applicant was charged with being AWOL from on or about 9 July 1992 until 21 July 1993.

7.  An undated memorandum shows the applicant consulted with legal counsel who advised her of the basis for the contemplated trial by court-martial for an offense punishable by a bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge, the maximum permissible punishment authorized under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the possible effects of a request for discharge, and of the procedures and rights that were available to her.  Following consultation with legal counsel, she requested discharge for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial in accordance with chapter 10 of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations - Enlisted Personnel).  In her request for discharge, the applicant admitted guilt to being AWOL and acknowledged:

* she understood that if the discharge request was approved she could be discharged under other than honorable conditions 
* she understood that she could be deprived of many or all Army benefits, that she could be ineligible for many or all benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and that she could be deprived of her rights and benefits as a veteran under both Federal and State laws
* she understood she could expect to encounter substantial prejudice in civilian life

8.  On 4 November 1993, the separation authority approved her request for discharge, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge, and directed her reduction to private/E-1.

9.  On 9 December 1993, the applicant was discharged.  Her DD Form 214 shows she was credited with 1 year, 9 months, and 27 days of active military service.  She had 378 days of lost time for the period 9 July 1992 through 21 July 1993.

10.  There is no indication the applicant applied to the Army Discharge Review Board for an upgrade of her discharge within that board's 15-year statute of limitations.
11.  The applicant provides self-authored statements describing the circumstances leading to her discharge and a copy of her DD Form 214.

12.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.

   a.  Paragraph 3-7a states an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law.  The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate.

	b.  Paragraph 3-7b states a general discharge is a separation from the Army under honorable conditions.  When authorized, it is issued to a Soldier whose military record is satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. 

	c.  Chapter 10 provides that a member who has committed an offense or offenses for which the authorized punishment includes a punitive discharge may submit a request for discharge for the good of the service in lieu of trial by court-martial.  The request may be submitted at any time after charges have been preferred and must include the individual's admission of guilt.  Although an honorable or general discharge is authorized, an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for an upgrade of her under other than honorable conditions discharge was carefully considered.

2.  Discharges under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 10, are voluntary requests for discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial.  The record shows she was charged with being AWOL, an offense for which she could have been tried by court-martial and punished with a punitive discharge under the UCMJ.  All requirements of law and regulation were met, and her rights were fully protected throughout her discharge processing.

3.  The applicant’s efforts to get her life turned around are noted.  However, she elected to go AWOL and she voluntarily chose to be discharged instead of facing court-martial charges.  Her records show she was well advised and fully aware of the consequences of her decision to request discharge in lieu of trial by court-martial.
4.  Based on her record of indiscipline, her service clearly did not meet the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel, and there is no documentary evidence of mitigating circumstances that would warrant changing the characterization of her service.  Therefore, she is not entitled to an honorable or a general discharge.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  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.



      _______ _   _______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130018249



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130018249



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