DEPARTMENTOFTHE NAV
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORD

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2 NAVY ANNE

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WASHINGTON DC 20370-510

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ELP
Docket No. 3468-01
31 January 2002

Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
Secretary of the Navy

(a) 10 U.S.C.1552
(b) Navy-Marine Corps Awards Manual

(1) DD Form 
(2) Case Summary
(3) Subject's Naval Record

149‘w/attachments

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From:
To:

Subj:

Ref:

Encl:

Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, a

1.
former enlisted member of the Navy,
requesting, in effect,
show a more favorable type of discharge than the general
discharge issued on 19 May 1972 and that he be awarded the Good
Conduct Medal.

that his naval record be corrected to

applied to this Board

The Board, consisting of Messrs. Pfeiffer, Pauling, and

2.
Harrison, reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and
injustice on 30 January 2002 and, pursuant to its regulations,
determined that the corrective action indicated below should be
taken on the available evidence of record.
considered by the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval
records, and applicable statutes,

regulations and policies.

Documentary material

The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record

3.
pertaining to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice
finds as follows:

a.

Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all

administrative remedies available under existing law and
regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b.

Although it appears that Petitioner's application to

the Board was not filed in a timely manner, it is in the
interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and
review the application on its merits.

C .

Petitioner enlisted in the Marine Corps on 22 November

1968 for two years as a PFC (E-2).
enlistment, he had completed two years in the Regular Army,
served in Vietnam, was wounded in action and awarded the Purple
Heart Medal.

At the time of his

d.

Petitioner began a tour in Vietnam on 17 August 1969

and extended his enlistment for an additional period of two
years on 20 September 1969.
(E-4), departed Vietnam in June 1970, and was advanced to SGT
(E-5) in September 1970.

He was subsequently promoted to CPL

e.

Petitioner served without incident until 17 March 1971
when he received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) for making a false
official statement and was reduced in rank to CPL.
a second NJP on 3 November 1971 for failure to obey a lawful
Punishment
order and two instances of communicating a threat.
consisted of forfeitures of $100 per month for two months and 30
days of restriction and extra duty.
three months.
22 November 1971.

However, the suspended punishment was vacated on

Both were suspended for

He received

f.

On 15 February 1972, while awaiting trial by  

court-

martial, he was referred for a psychiatric evaluation due to
numerous recurrent explosive outbursts and uncontrolled
behavior.
disorder and an aggressive personality.
separation was recommended.

He was diagnosed with an explosive personality
Administrative

g-

On 26 February 1972 Petitioner was convicted by special
specificiations  of

court-martial of breach of the peace and two  
assault.
months and reduction in rank to LCPL (E-3).

He was sentenced to confinement at hard labor for two

h.

On 30 March 1972 Petitioner was notified that action

He was advised of his procedural rights and declined

was being initiated to discharge him under honorable conditions
by reason of unsuitability due to a character and behavior
disorder.
to consult with legal counsel or submit a statement in his own
behalf.
general discharge by reason of unsuitability.
discharged on 19 May 1972.

Thereafter, the commanding officer recommended a
He was so

i.

Regulations provide that individuals separated by

reason of unsuitability receive the type of discharge warranted

2

Character of service is based in part,

by the service record.
on conduct and proficiency averages which are computed from
marks assigned during periodic evaluations.
and proficiency averages shown in his record were 4.5 and 4.3,
respectively.
his conduct and proficiency averages were in fact 3.8 and 3.9,
respectively.
required for a fully honorable characterization of service at
the time of his discharge.

A minimum average mark of 4.0 in conduct was

However, a recomputation of these marks indicates

The final conduct

j.

Eligibility requirements as established by reference
(b) requires three years of continuous active service with no
court-martial convictions and no more than one NJP.

CONCLUSION:

In this regard, the Board notes Petitioner served two

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record, the
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants favorable
action.
tours in Vietnam, both in the Army and the Marine Corps, was
wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
Furthermore, his discipline problems did not begin until after
his return from Vietnam.
While the Board does not condone such
misconduct, it was not uncommon that many individuals returning
from Vietnam often faced significant adjustment problems.
Although the conduct and proficiency averages in the record
support a fully honorable discharge,
in error.
Therefore, the award of a general discharge was
within the discharge authority's discretion.
Even though
Petitioner's misconduct does not constitute fully honorable
service, the Board believes it is mitigated by his diagnosed
character and behavior disorder and the fact he placed his life
in great peril for his country during two tours in Vietnam.
Accordingly, the Board concludes that it would be appropriate
and just to recharacterize the general discharge to honorable.

those averages appear to be

Petitioner is not entitled to the Good Conduct Medal in that he
NJPs prior to completion of three years of contin-
received two  
uous active service.

RECOMMENDATION:

a.

That Petitioner's naval record be corrected to show

that he was honorably discharged by reason of unsuitability on
19  May  1972 vice the general discharge actually issued on that
date.

3

b.

That no further relief be granted.

That this Report of Proceedings be

filed in

Petitioner's naval record.

C .

d.

That upon request, the Department of veterans Affairs

be informed that Petitioner's application was received by the
Board on 30 April 2001.

It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's

4.
and that the foregoing is a true and
review and deliberations,
complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled
matter.

ROBERT D. ZSALMAN
Recorder

Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in Section 6

5.
(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of
Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6
(e)) and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is
hereby announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken
under the authority of reference (a),
Board on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.

has been approved by the

Executive D