Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 8/28/2009

Question
"My name is donald graves and I was in from june 7 99 through april 19 04. After coming back from iraq I had several prob dealing with the stress from being over there and coming home to walking in on my wife having sex with one of my friends. With dealing with that I made the biggest mistake of my life and turned to drugs. I regret it everyday. I enrolled myself into asap and my chain of command started to give me uranalizes well I failed and the proceeded to chapter me out. I applied for an upgraded discharge and they upgraded it to an honorable but did not change my re code. I have recently put in for an upgrade for that but they denied it. I was wondering if going to my congressman and asking him to write me a letter of recomendation would help at all? I know I was in the wrong for my actions and I have been clean from drugs and alcohol for 5 years now. I don't know what I can do to get back in I hope you can stear me in the right place. I would do anything to get back in the military.


Answer
Donald,
This may be a long answer but I want you to have all the facts.  First of all, I commend you on staying "clean" since that incident and feeling remorse over having made a mistake.  In my opinion, that alone makes you Honorable.

Upgrading a discharge is possible but not easy.  There are only two reasons that the Army will upgrade your discharge; one is that it was "Improper" - meaning they made a mistake and you can prove it, and the second is that your discharge was "Inequitable"- meaning the punishment they gave you was not consistent with their policies or what they gave somebody else in the exact same situation, e.g., two of you were caught smoking pot and you were discharged while the other person only got a verbal reprimand.

Just because it was your first offense and you've been a good boy ever since, doesn't mean much.  You were wrong at the time and they caught you.  It would be hard to prove otherwise at this point.  You've heard of "innocent until proven guilty"?  In this case the government is correct until proven wrong.

If you think you have a case, and are sure you wish to proceed, you can apply to the Army Discharge Review Board (DRB) for a discharge upgrade, or a change in the discharge reason, and try to prove to the DRB that their discharge reason was or "improper" or "inequitable."

You have 15 years to apply, so you're well within the deadline.

To apply you need a DD Form 293, Application for the Review of Discharge or Dismissal from the Armed Forces of the United States.  That form is available online at:

http://usmilitary.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=usmilitary&cdn=ca...

Mail the completed form to the appropriate address on the back side of the form.  For the Army  it is the Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA), ATTN: Client Information and Quality Assurance, Arlington, VA 22202-4508

Assistance via telephone is also available at 1-703-607-1600

If you were discharged as a result of a courts-martial, the DRB cannot change that.

If you submit your request, you can attach any supporting documentation that will help your case, such as signed statements from you and other witnesses or copies of records that support your case.  It is not enough to provide the names of witnesses.  You should contact your witnesses to get their signed statements with your request, the DRB will not contact your witnesses to obtain statements.  If you need to request quest a copy of your military records, you can get them from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), to include with your application by mailing a written request to:  9700 Page Boulevard, St.  Louis, Missouri 63132-5100
Your own statement is important.  Put your statement in clear terms in section 8 of the DD Form 293.  Make sure you carefully read the instructions on the back of the form concerning issues.  Explain what happened and why they were wrong.

Normally, the best evidence is statements from persons who have direct knowledge or involvement.  For example, statements from persons in your rating chain, your supervisor, or commander, or anyone else with direct knowledge of your military service.  The DRB is not interested in your behavior or conduct AFTER you left the military.  Contain your statements to periods which were directly related to your military service.  The burden of proof is on you to establish the discharge was wrong.

Most applicants represent themselves.  If your request is complex, you may want someone to represent you:  You may hire a lawyer to represent you at your own expense, (some attorneys specialize in military discharge review processes) or consult a veteran service organization such as the American Legion, DAV, etc.   They will advise you even though you decide to represent yourself.   They have experienced staff members who will represent you in applying to the DRB, and assist you in completing the necessary paperwork.   If you name a representative, state so on item 6 if your DD Form 249, item 6.   The DRB will then deal with your representative rather than directly with you.

You may also request a personal appearance before the DRB which consists of 5 members who each cast one vote and the majority rules.   You request this by checking the appropriate box on item 4 of your DD Form 293.   If you request a hearing, the DRB will notify you as to time, date, and place (usually Washington D.C.), and travel is completely at your own expense.   If you "no-show" for a scheduled hearing, your case is closed forever.

Your hearing is not a trial.   The purpose is to determine whether your discharge was improper.   Only one of two things can happen: (1) your request can be granted or (2) your discharge can remain the same.   It cannot be made worse.  You can't go to jail for contempt of court, etc.  You don't have to, but you can testify on your own behalf.  The DRB likes personal testimony because they can ask you questions instead of just reading you statement on paper.  It helps your creditability.

Remember, the DRBs limited to these two issues, propriety and equity as a basis for a change of discharge.  They can not base a change on compassion or because you have changed for the better.

The hearing will be recorded on either a cassette tape or a CD.  It provides a record of the proceedings but beyond that, it gives the DRB a chance to rehear your testimony after you have left the room and sometimes this can be very important.  No one has access to the recording except you and the DRB members.  You can get a copy by simply asking for it; no one else can get a copy without your written permission.   The reason is simply to provide a complete hearing record.

The whole hearing process usually takes about an hour, but the DRB will take whatever time is necessary to hear your case, there is no time limit.  After you are excused you may leave immediately.  The DRB will then go into deliberations and reach its decision.

You've been in the Army so you're probably used to government paperwork being slow.  It will take about six to eight weeks for you to receive the DRB's decision.  If your discharge is changed you will receive a new discharge certificate, a new DD form 214, and the decisional document of this DRB.  If your discharge is not changed you will receive the decisional document of this DRB which will include the specific reasons your discharge was not changed and will also include any further appeal process, which is applicable to you.

If you're sure you want to go through this time-consuming, expensive process, I wish you the best of luck.  Very few people successfully get their discharge upgraded.  The government doesn't like admitting they made mistakes.

Meanwhile, don't let depression get you down.  Not many people will ask you how long you served or why you got out of the Army if you head them off in advance.  Just simply say, " I did one hitch in the Army," or "I did my time in the Army."  Beyond that, it's nobody's business.
Life goes on as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow.  Don't dwell on the past.  Close that chapter of your life and look forward to what new adventures tomorrow will bring.

Writing to your Congressman will do no good at all.  Your government rep is not going to admit the government was wrong.  Besides, you did the honorable thing at the time and admitted you were wrong.

As long as your RE code is not 4 you have a chance of obtaining a waiver.  Your local recruiter has to submit this for you.  A word of advice, you should wait until Oct 1st when the new quotas are released to see a recruiter.  You will be considered a "re-enlistment" not an "enlistment" and those quotas are small and already filled for 2009.

Thanks for wanting to continue serving.
Colonel H