What are my chances of success?

To be honest:  50-50.  There are a lot of subjective factors that go into a decision. Some decisions are easy, like a name change, others less so, like changing your Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) because you remarried and missed the deadline. Board members may never have served in the military. Members could have served during Vietnam, the “Cold War”, during Desert Storm, or since September 11th. They could be Soldiers working for the US Navy. As with all “juries,” members come with personal or professional biases. For example, you could have a board composed of a Vietnam veteran and OEF/OIF veteran, and your issue is related to PTSD. The Vietnam member’s decision could be informed by his experiences in combat in Vietnam, and the OEF/OIF veteran is informed by his experience in Iraq or Afghanistan. Each likely has completely different views of combat and PTSD. One might be a former alcoholic and takes a stand that recovering alcoholics have a higher standard to meet. In other words, you never know who is going to be on your Board and what their personal biases may be.

How do the boards operate?

To temper expectations, the various Boards have announced they are taking anywhere from 24 to 56 months to review applications from the time you submit your request. In some cases, where there is a matter of great importance, the Boards will “expedite” the request, but those still take from 9 to 12 months.

After you submit your request for a correction, it will take anywhere from 1 to 2 months for the Boards to acknowledge receipt and assign a docket number. Then, for the next 24 to 48 months your case will languish in a dark room until it is assigned to a caseworker. The case worker will review the file, and do one of the following: (1) reject the application because they don’t understand the question or they do not think they have enough information to continue; (2) request an advisory opinion from other staff elements on a particular point (after receiving the opinion it will be forwarded to you for comment); or, (3) draft a case review for the board members.  There are other possibilities, but they are rare occurrences.  Once the case synopsis is drafted, it will be assigned a hearing date – usually within 60-days of the completing of the case synopsis.

The actual board hearing consists of a document review by a panel of three volunteer Department employees (GS-15 or SES) assigned to the Washington, DC area.  They usually serve as a Board member once or twice a year. Board dates are usually on Tuesday and Thursday. The board room is usually a typical large office with three desks. In the room is a table with anywhere from 75 to 100 cases. The three board members will read each of those cases and vote with a majority vote winning the day. So … think about the process. Three people 75 cases, 8 hours – 7 really with lunch and breaks. That is about 9 cases per hour, or 6 minutes per case. In other words, you need to make sure that your submission is concise and strong so that the board members can see all of your evidence to make a decision that is in your favor.

How do I apply for a correction?

The Boards would have you believe it is as simple as filling out a DD Form 149 and providing one or two sentences as to why your records need to be corrected. In 99.999% cases this is completely insufficient. You have to apply within three (3) years of the date you first discover the “error or injustice,” with a few exceptions. You have to have exhausted all other remedies, too. So, for example, if you are applying to have your discharge upgraded, you first must have applied to the military service Discharge Review Board, and been denied. If you apply to the BCMR without all the necessary evidence the first time and are denied, you have one year to ask for reconsideration. The good news is that in most cases, the Boards will waive the one-year reconsideration limitation if you can provide “new or material” information that was not available to you at the time of the application, or “for good cause shown.” It is in your best interests to provide as much evidence as you can with your first submission so you can get relief from the error or injustice.

What do the boards for the Correction of Military or Naval Records do exactly?

The Boards for the Corrections of Military (Army, Air Force, Coast Guard) or Naval (Navy and Marine Corps) Records (BCMR) are the highest level of administrative review within their respective military service. They were created by statute (Title 10 USC § 1552) to “correct an error or remove an injustice.” This broad statement allows the Secretary of a Military Department power to correct anything from changing the spelling of your last name on a DD214 to awarding you a military retirement to giving you recognition for wounds obtained in combat. The Secretary of Defense instructed each of the military services to establish these BCMRs and these boards have been processing these kinds of correction requests for decades.