Legal Question in Military Law in Virginia

Military discharge upgrade

Dear Sirs:

I was discharged from the military (US Army) in 1996 with an Other Than honorable discharge for misconduct. During my service I had NJP for a DUI. That is the only misconduct I have in my records. I have been working as a government contractor and working directly with the Navy since 1997 and have developed a good reputation with the Navy. I was wondering if it was still possible to have my discharge reviewed and what the likeliness of an upgrade would be.

Thanks in advance for any information or help on this matter,

--name removed--Litz


Asked on 7/11/05, 4:41 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Patrick Tracy Patrick J. Tracy, Esq, P.E.,

Re: Military discharge upgrade

The simple answer is that it depends. If you can show that after your discharge you conduct is exemplary the you may have a chance. File and see what happens.

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Answered on 7/11/05, 5:03 pm
William J. Holmes Attorney at Military Law

Re: Military discharge upgrade

Patrick,

The only way to change your discharge is to file a petition to the Board for Correction of Military Records and you have to show that the original discharge was incorrect. You have 3 years in which to file to this Board. There is also a Discharge Review Board for each branch of service which cannot overturn a discharge but can upgrade it. You can file before this Board within 15 years of your discharge. To get an upgrade, you usually still need to show that the original discharge was not appropriate. Typically, they do not give much weight to subsequent good conduct such as you describe. Of more concern would be did you request a discharge board and fight the discharge back in 1996? If not, you might have a harder time getting it changed now.

Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions about this matter.

William J. Holmes

Attorney at Law

6064 Indian River Road

Suite 203

Virginia Beach, Virginia 23464

(757) 420-9321

(757) 420-4169 Fax

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Answered on 7/12/05, 9:16 am


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