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Will Someone See If I,m Reading This Correctly,

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landend

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Will someone see if I,m reading this correctly,

The VA will not decide until it has the facts and circumstances records, but there is none.

Title 38: Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief

PART 3—ADJUDICATION

Subpart A—Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation

General

§ 3.12 Character of discharge.

(a) If the former service member did not die in service, pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation is not payable unless the period of service on which the claim is based was terminated by discharge or release under conditions other than dishonorable. (38 U.S.C. 101(2)). A discharge under honorable conditions is binding on the Department of Veterans Affairs as to character of discharge.

I had no Character on my discharge, Just General For good of the service, OTH conditions

(b) A discharge or release from service under one of the conditions specified in this section is a bar to the payment of benefits unless it is found that the person was insane at the time of committing the offense causing such discharge or release or unless otherwise specifically provided (38 U.S.C. 5303(b)).

© Benefits are not payable where the former service member was discharged or released under one of the following conditions:

(1) As a conscientious objector who refused to perform military duty, wear the uniform, or comply with lawful order of competent military authorities.I,m Not

(2) By reason of the sentence of a general court-martial. I did not have a trial, Just a Administrative discharge and it states on the charge sheet is not offered a trial.I think that for this type ,it is not considered any of the Court Martial.

(3) Resignation by an officer for the good of the service.Not a officer

(4) As a deserter.Was not a deserter

(5) As an alien during a period of hostilities, where it is affirmatively shown that the former service member requested his or her release. See §3.7(b). N/A

(6) By reason of a discharge under other than honorable conditions issued as a result of an absence without official leave (AWOL) for a continuous period of at least 180 days. This bar to benefit entitlement does not apply if there are compelling circumstances to warrant the prolonged unauthorized absence. This bar applies to any person awarded an honorable or general discharge prior to October 8, 1977, under one of the programs listed in paragraph (h) of this section, and to any person who prior to October 8, 1977, had not otherwise established basic eligibility to receive Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The term established basic eligibility to receive Department of Veterans Affairs benefits means either a Department of Veterans Affairs determination that an other than honorable discharge was issued under conditions other than dishonorable, or an upgraded honorable or general discharge issued prior to October 8, 1977, under criteria other than those prescribed by one of the programs listed in paragraph (h) of this section. However, if a person was discharged or released by reason of the sentence of a general court-martial, only a finding of insanity (paragraph (b) of this section) or a decision of a board of correction of records established under 10 U.S.C. 1552 can establish basic eligibility to receive Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The following factors will be considered in determining whether there are compelling circumstances to warrant the prolonged unauthorized absence. I was only AWOL 75 days,of which I spent 20 in the mental ward.never upgraded discharge, did not even know about it till late last year,discharged in Dec 1972

(i) Length and character of service exclusive of the period of prolonged AWOL. Service exclusive of the period of prolonged AWOL should generally be of such quality and length that it can be characterized as honest, faithful and meritorious and of benefit to the Nation. AWOL was not prolonged

(ii) Reasons for going AWOL. Reasons which are entitled to be given consideration when offered by the claimant include family emergencies or obligations, or similar types of obligations or duties owed to third parties. The reasons for going AWOL should be evaluated in terms of the person's age, cultural background, educational level and judgmental maturity. Consideration should be given to how the situation appeared to the person himself or herself, and not how the adjudicator might have reacted. Hardship or suffering incurred during overseas service, or as a result of combat wounds of other service-incurred or aggravated disability, is to be carefully and sympathetically considered in evaluating the person's state of mind at the time the prolonged AWOL period began.AWOL was not prolonged,scared,assaulted,17 years old,

(iii) A valid legal defense exists for the absence which would have precluded a conviction for AWOL. Compelling circumstances could occur as a matter of law if the absence could not validly be charged as, or lead to a conviction of, an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. For purposes of this paragraph the defense must go directly to the substantive issue of absence rather than to procedures, technicalities or formalities.

(d) A discharge or release because of one of the offenses specified in this paragraph is considered to have been issued under dishonorable conditions.

(1) Acceptance of an undesirable discharge to escape trial by general court-martial.NO trial, just Admin discharge

(2) Mutiny or spying.

(3) An offense involving moral turpitude. This includes, generally, conviction of a felony.

(4) Willful and persistent misconduct. This includes a discharge under other than honorable conditions, if it is determined that it was issued because of willful and persistent misconduct. A discharge because of a minor offense will not, however, be considered willful and persistent misconduct if service was otherwise honest, faithful and meritorious. Never in any trouble,

(5) Homosexual acts involving aggravating circumstances or other factors affecting the performance of duty. Examples of homosexual acts involving aggravating circumstances or other factors affecting the performance of duty include child molestation, homosexual prostitution, homosexual acts or conduct accompanied by assault or coercion, and homosexual acts or conduct taking place between service members of disparate rank, grade, or status when a service member has taken advantage of his or her superior rank, grade, or status. N/A

(e) An honorable discharge or discharge under honorable conditions issued through a board for correction of records established under authority of 10 U.S.C. 1552 is final and conclusive on the Department of Veterans Affairs. The action of the board sets aside any prior bar to benefits imposed under paragraph © or (d) of this section.N/A

(f) An honorable or general discharge issued prior to October 8, 1977, under authority other than that listed in paragraphs (h) (1), (2) and (3) of this section by a discharge review board established under 10 U.S.C. 1553 set aside any bar to benefits imposed under paragraph © or (d) of this section except the bar contained in paragraph ©(2) of this section.N/A

(g) An honorable or general discharge issued on or after October 8, 1977, by a discharge review board established under 10 U.S.C. 1553, sets aside a bar to benefits imposed under paragraph (d), but not paragraph ©, of this section provided that:N/A

(1) The discharge is upgraded as a result of an individual case review;N/A

(2) The discharge is upgraded under uniform published standards and procedures that generally apply to all persons administratively discharged or released from active military, naval or air service under conditions other than honorable; and N/A

(3) Such standards are consistent with historical standards for determining honorable service and do not contain any provision for automatically granting or denying an upgraded discharge.N/A

(h) Unless a discharge review board established under 10 U.S.C. 1553 determines on an individual case basis that the discharge would be upgraded under uniform standards meeting the requirements set forth in paragraph (g) of this section, an honorable or general discharge awarded under one of the following programs does not remove any bar to benefits imposed under this section:N/A

(1) The President's directive of January 19, 1977, implementing Presidential Proclamation 4313 of September 16, 1974; orN/A

(2) The Department of Defense's special discharge review program effective April 5, 1977; orN/A

(3) Any discharge review program implemented after April 5, 1977, that does not apply to all persons administratively discharged or released from active military service under other than honorable conditions.N/A

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 5303 (e)) (i) No overpayments shall be created as a result of payments made after October 8, 1977, based on an upgraded honorable or general discharge issued under one of the programs listed in paragraph (h) of this section which would not be awarded under the standards set forth in paragraph (g) of this section. Accounts in payment status on or after October 8, 1977, shall be terminated the end of the month in which it is determined that the original other than honorable discharge was not issued under conditions other than dishonorable following notice from the appropriate discharge review board that the discharge would not have been upgraded under the standards set forth in paragraph (g) of this section, or April 7, 1978, whichever is the earliest. Accounts in suspense (either before or after October 8, 1977) shall be terminated on the date of last payment or April 7, 1978, whichever is the earliest.

(j) No overpayment shall be created as a result of payments made after October 8, 1977, in cases in which the bar contained in paragraph ©(6) of this section is for application. Accounts in payment status on or after October 8, 1977, shall be terminated at the end of the month in which it is determined that compelling circumstances do not exist, or April 7, 1978, whichever is the earliest. Accounts in suspense (either before or after October 8, 1977) shall be terminated on the date of last payment, or April 7, 1978, whichever is the earliest.

(k) Uncharacterized separations. Where enlisted personnel are administratively separated from service on the basis of proceedings initiated on or after October 1, 1982, the separation may be classified as one of the three categories of administrative separation that do not require characterization of service by the military department concerned. In such cases conditions of discharge will be determined by the VA as follows:

(1) Entry level separation. Uncharacterized administrative separations of this type shall be considered under conditions other than dishonorable.This is what mine should be ??

(2) Void enlistment or induction. Uncharacterized administrative separations of this type shall be reviewed based on facts and circumstances surrounding separation, with reference to the provisions of §3.14 of this part, to determine whether separation was under conditions other than dishonorable.

(3) Dropped from the rolls. Uncharacterized administrative separations of this type shall be reviewed based on facts and circumstances surrounding separation to determine whether separation was under conditions other than dishonorable.

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You are not offered the uncharacterized discharge, this law did not change until 1982 as you noted. That is 10 years after you were discharged if I read what you posted correctly. You are governed by the laws that were in place at the time of your discharge. I would think.

Pertaining to those laws is, there any definition of what the military considers a prolonged AWOL?? 75 days seems like a long time to me but there should be some guide lines there for you to go by.

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After rereading your post it does state 180 days so you in essence may still be eligible for a general discharge. This is going to be solely up to what the board decide I think.

I would suggest if you haven't done already you write a detailed statement that hopefully you can proof with evidence as to why you went AWOL.

I am surprised that you have not been charged with going AWOL at a time of WAR? That may be the break you need.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Well, the BCMR is not that friendly to OTH discharges after almost 40 years. The burden will be on you to show that an injustice has been done. All your ordinary time limits have run out, so I wonder if you could get pro bono help from some lawyer group to help you with this? The BCMR will raise the 15 year time limit to file an appeal for discharge change. This is their firt defense against changing a discharge. I recently asked BCMR for change of character of discharge from honorable to medical and they raised the 15 year time deadline and dismissed my appeal.

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I should have said that none of this really applies to me,and as far as mental, I was in a mental ward for the time I was awol,

except for time it took to walk,hitch 2000 miles home.

One thing I did notice on my discharge papers was 635-200 mental capacity does not apply,

I was arrested at the mental ward and a file was given to the mps,

Why would my jag not present this to the board?

Seems like ineffective council to me.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

you are normally DFR'd after 30 days dropped from the rolls and you would not go back to your old unit you would go to a Personnel Control Facility back then they were at Fort Ord, Ca and Fort Dix NJ for determination of what to do with you some people got non judicial punishment and then re-assigned to a new duty station others were court martialed served their sentence and were then either discharged or re-assigned and others were just chaptered out of the Army which seems to be what they did do to you but as others have pointed out the Board of Corrections does not usually do anything in favor of the veterans

I have seldom seen the upgrade discharges to help veterans obtain compensation benefits a few have been able to get a status where they get VA medical treatment but nothing else how they did it I don't know

my brother can't get his upgraded and he was given a Chapter 10 in the early 80s it was either that or go to prison the Chapter 10 was his best option and he has paid for it for a long time and he will pay for it the rest of his life. He made a lot of bad choices as a Drill SGT at Fort McClellan he threw away 14 years due to his stupidity.

I hope you have some good lawyer helping you on your appeal to the Board of Correction on your discharge upgrade you will need a good one and that does not mean it will be upgraded just it will improve your shot at it to try and do it yourself is like going into court without a lawyer don't do it

most chapter discharges are not done by a board it is a paperwork drill for the G1 and approved by a Battalion or Brigade Commander and half the time the NCOIC signed for the officer

100% SC P&T PTSD 100% CAD 10% Hypertension and A&A = SMC L, SSD
a disabled American veteran certified lol
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

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Contact the American Legion. They have lawyers that will represent you for an upgrade to your discharge. This service is free of charge. As far as facts and circumstances, they will help you write up your case. The military will send in the evidence they have. An Adminstrative decision will be done at the VA.

The enclosed link will provide you will valuable information. It is not an indorsement of the law firm. For informationl purposes.

http://www.dvanarelli.com/blog/?p=6625

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up." Jimmy V

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