IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  25 September 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140001209 


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 reconsideration of his previous request for a discharge upgrade, from an undesirable discharge to an honorable discharge, and a change in the narrative reason for separation.

2.  He also requests correction of his medical records to remove any entries referring to intravenous (IV) drug use and/or hepatitis C.  

3.  The applicant states, in effect, and as stated in Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Docket Number AR20070002024, dated 19 July 2007:

	a.  He was 17 years of age when he joined the Army and he came from a small town in Tennessee.  He was having problems with his step-father so he joined the Army to follow in his real father’s footsteps and make it a career.  After basic combat training (BCT) he was assigned to Germany.  

	b.  Once he was assigned to Germany he fell in with the wrong people and started using drugs and became addicted.  He asked for help and was put in the hospital for several weeks.  He later became very sick with a liver disease and was sent back to the United States to a hospital for treatment and then to another assignment.  



	c.  When he got close to the end of his enlistment he did a stupid thing and went absent without leave (AWOL) and traveled around the country until he got scared and turned himself in at Fort Lewis, Washington.  He told his chain of command at the time that he did not want to be in the Army and was given a discharge that he has been ashamed of ever since.  

4.  In his current request for reconsideration, he stated in effect:

	a.  After he completed BCT he was assigned to Germany and began feeling poorly.  He went to the clinic on several occasions, though, based on the medical records he received, not all of his appointments seem to have been documented. 

	b.  Eventually he became very ill and was admitted to the hospital.  He was diagnosed with hepatitis C and the doctor who was treating him told him he only had 5 years to live.  He was really scared.  His doctors also told him he was being medically evacuated to a military hospital in the United States where he would be treated and receive a medical discharge.  

	c.  He realized he would not receive a medical discharge when he was returned to duty and reassigned.  He was really tired from his illness and decided to self-medicate a few times by taking hash and caffeine pills but he never used any IV drugs.  Eventually, he became so scared and upset he decided to go AWOL.

	d.  He believes he contracted hepatitis C from the auto-injector that was used to administer immunizations in BCT because it was not cleaned between uses.  Additionally, it is possible he contracted his illness from being cut by a razor while getting a haircut in BCT or from contaminated cutlery, knives and blades in the dining facility.  

5.  The applicant provides:

* Self-authored statement
* 38 pages of medical records
* DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record)
* DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty)
* Certificate of Birth
* Marriage Certificate
* ABCMR Docket Number AR20070002024, dated 19 July 2007




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 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's request for an upgrade of his discharge was previously considered in ABCMR Docket Number AR20070002024 on 19 July 2007.  

3.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) sets forth procedures for processing requests for correction of military records.  Paragraph 2-15b governs requests for reconsideration.  This provision of the regulation allows an applicant to request reconsideration of an earlier ABCMR decision if the request is received within one year of the ABCMR's original decision and it has not previously been reconsidered.  The applicant’s request for reconsideration was not received within one year of the ABCMR's original decision.  As a result, his request for reconsideration does not meet the criteria outlined above.  The ABCMR will not consider any further requests for reconsideration of this matter.  However, the applicant does have the option to seek relief in a court of appropriate jurisdiction. Based on the foregoing this issue will not be addressed further in this Record of Proceedings (ROP).

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army with parental consent on 26 July 1972.  He completed BCT and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Knox, KY and was awarded military occupational specialties (MOS) 71B (Clerk-Typist) and 94B (Cook).   

5.  His DD Form 214 shows he was discharged on 11 February 1975, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations –Enlisted Personnel), chapter 10, in lieu of trial by court-martial with an undesirable discharge characterized as under other than honorable conditions.  He had served 2 years, 3 months, and 21 days of total active service and he had 85 days of lost time due to being AWOL.

6.  His official military health records were not available for review in this case; however, he provided 38 pages of various civilian and military medical records which include a/an:

	a.  Standard Form (SF) 502 (Narrative Summary), dated 18 April 1974, wherein his physician stated the applicant's chief complaint was "hepatitis for approximately 8 months."  The applicant was "apparently well until August 1973. 
At that time he admitted to IV drug abuse and had used a needle, shared with a friend who had recently developed hepatitis… he was readmitted to the hospital on 18 March and a percutaneous transcostal liver biopsy was performed which was compatible with mild, persistent hepatitis.  He denies any recent IV drug abuse… His laboratory data, history, and physical exam are all consistent with the results of the liver biopsy… mild, persistent hepatitis.  The literature reports that this is a chronically but slowly resolving condition and in no way carries any poor prognosis whatsoever.  The [applicant] is, therefore, going to be discharged for reassignment."

	b.  DA Form 3647-1 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet), dated 24 April 1974, states he had persistent hepatitis and a history of heroin use.

	c.  The other medical documents he provided from his military service, both at the Heidelberg hospital in Germany and the hospital at Fort Benning, GA indicate he was an IV drug user of heroin and had contracted viral hepatitis.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

The applicant has not provided, and his records do not contain, sufficient evidence to show the entries in his military health records that refer to IV drug use are incorrect or improper.  Therefore, there is insufficient justification for correcting his military health records.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x____  ____x___  ___x____  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.



      _______ _   _x______   ___
               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)                                         AR20140001209





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140001209



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