Discharge Upgrades & Military Record Changes

Information on discharge upgrades, military record changes, and VA Character of Discharge Determination.  

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DoD Memorandum Clarifying Guidance to Discharge Review Boards Considering Requests for Discharge Modifications Due to Mental Health Conditions, TBI, Sexual Assault, or Sexual Harassment

This resource details the Kurta Memo and what it means when a veteran is seeking a discharge upgrade based on Mental Health Conditions, TBI, Sexual Assault, or Sexual Harassment.
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Get Free Legal Help with Appealing Your Denied Claim to the CAVC or Your Discharge Upgrade for Qualifying Veterans

Find out if you're eligible for free legal help from the The Veterans Consortium.

Records Management

Question:

Did the JSRRC or (Records Management Center as I believe it is called now) hire more staff or allow more staff to go back to work in order to catch up with the massive backlog of records request?

 

Jim's Reply:

If you're referring to the NPRC, yes...they are doing what they can to return to work. I know people there and they face the huge challenge of COVID just as any business does today plus they are always dealing with the less than ideal conditions of exposure to HAZMAT left from the decades of dust and debris of storage of paper files...some even known to contain asbestos.
 

I can't speak to just how many people have returned to labor on site, may are still working remotely in support of those on site. They're trying to prioritize recovering files for veterans who may be in hospice care and so on.
 

The mission there has been a mess since the fire and the pandemic made it that much worse. If you're waiting on files for your case, it may be a while. Good luck.

 

Veteran?

Question:

This question is on behalf of Air Force 1st Lt Douglas Brookfield, killed in a Cargomaster crash in Labrador, CAN in 1964. He was just 24. A senior member at his hometown local historical society will not allow Lt. Brookfield's personal items (such as small booklet of poems he wrote) to be displayed in the Society's Veterans Day yearly exhibit. The reason given when questioned was that "he was not a Veteran [since] he did not serve in a period of active war." She claims the local Veteran's agent supports her in this. This seems wrong on several levels?

 

Jim's Reply:

A "local veterans agent"? 
 

That doesn't sound like someone who is on our side does it? The fact is that anyone who served honorably is a veteran. Whether they served in a period of war makes a difference on some benefits and nothing else.
 

Serving in the military is a challenge under any circumstances. The physical demands and the mental stress come with the territory and there aren't any civilian careers that compare. The person who you're honoring wouldn't have died in a Cargomaster crash as a civilian and I think that says it all.
 

It seems particularly mean spirited to not honor a veteran. You can tell her I said so.

 

SSDI & Discharge Upgrades?

Question:

Do you help with non-service connected SSDI/SSI application and/or military discharge upgrades?

 

Jim's Reply:

I don't personally represent veterans, no. However...if it's a discharge upgrade you need help with, click here vetsprobono.org
 

Once you've made contact there you can ask them if they can refer you to an advocate to help you with SSDI. Good luck.

 

Ships Logs?

Question:

Why is the ship's deck log not available during parts of our WESTPAC Cruise in 1963? I want to know specifically where my ship (USS Los Angeles CA-135) was. I would love to see the ship-deck logs for the entirety of summer '61 through the return to San Diego following that deployment. How can I get that information? I tried looking it up at sites online that have links to ship's deck-logs, but both of those periods of time were ostensibly missing. Can you help me in any way to locate that information? 

 

Jim's Reply:

The best I can tell you is that deck logs are here: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online. Unfortunately, the National Archives are closed due to the pandemic so your search will be delayed even further. 

 

Discharge Upgrade

Question:

I applied for a discharge upgrade and left out a piece of supporting documentation what can be done?

 

Jim's Reply:

You should ask that question of whoever is helping you with your discharge upgrade. You can get some help here https://www.vetsprobono.org/ 

 

DD Form 293 - Application for Review of Discharge from the Armed Forces

Department of Defense Form 293 is used to request an upgrade of a military discharge from the appropriate discharge review board. You can access a fillable PDF version of the form here.

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Army Board for Correction of Military Records

The Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) is the highest level of administrative review within the Department of the Army with the mission to correct errors in or remove injustices from Army military records.
The logo for the Army Review Boards Agency. A golden eagle on a red seal with the scales of justice. A text ribbon reads "Justice, Equity, Compassion."

Army Discharge Review Board

The Board reviews discharges of former soldiers, except discharges that were issued over 15 years ago or were given by sentence of a General Court Martial. Learn more about the Board in this article.