• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Help, Need some guidance please! Status Upgrade!

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

chisasunja

Junior Member
Hi all...I have a "special circumstance" situation. I went into the Military in May 2001 healthy and motivated. During Boot Camp I had to get my wisdom teeth removed and encountered a terrible problem. While getting an impacted wisdom tooth removed the Dr. "slipped" causing an immense amount of damage that took several surgeries to repair leaving my main mandibular nerve damaged, partially paralized on parts, large hematoma and mass amount of infection. All this information is documented in my military file. I didn't want to be put on hold and was near the end of Boot Camp so I gave it all I had to get through and graduated Boot Camp, not sure how but I did. Subsequently, I was disqualified from my job due to this injury and sent to THU (temp holding unit) where I underwent more treatment and surgeries. I was on about 7 medicines and heavily sedated along with an anti-depressant. This was not my normal person...was ALWAYS happy, upbeat and optimistic. I couldn't take the situation anymore and went AWOL. I know, now, that this was not correct. I was NOT of sound and mind when this happened and have ALL the documentation to prove it. How do I go about getting my status upgraded? Truthfully, is there ANYTHING I can do? I feel cheated out of a great career in the military due to no fault of my own and now have physical scars I have to live with everyday.

PLEASE HELP! All advice will be taken into consideration...good, bad, agree, not agree..I just need to know what my options are and if I can do anything to upgrade my status to something other than OTH...

Thank you all in advance for taking the time to read and help me out.
 


ERAUPIKE

Senior Member
You will not be able to upgrade your discharge ever. You have a great story but it isn't enough to change the verdict in your case. It is probably time you took some responsibility for your own actions.
 

snowchiq16

Junior Member
It never hurts to try

You can attempt to upgrade your discharge to under honorable conditions if everything you have said is true and is documented in your military record jacket but upgrading it to an Honorable discharge is very unlikely because you did not serve your full term of service. Although it is very difficult to upgrade a punitive discharge due to being found guilty of AWOL it never hurts to try. You must obtain a copy of DD Form 293 which is an Application for the Review of Discharge or Dismissal from the Armed Forces of the United States. If you have an OTH you will want to ask the board to upgrade it to a General under Honorable Conditions which would probably be the highest you would be able to upgrade to. You will need to get copies of all your records and anything you have that would support your case and course of action you took when you went AWOL. There's a lot of other information on the net regarding this so just do some research and get everything together before you attempt this. Best of luck to you.
 

ERAUPIKE

Senior Member
If you have an OTH you will want to ask the board to upgrade it to a General under Honorable Conditions which would probably be the highest you would be able to upgrade to.
Why is that? What regulation states anything close to this statement?
 

ERAUPIKE

Senior Member
It was more of a rhetorical question kristen. I was simply pointing out that you weren't doing anything more than blowing smoke.
 

snowchiq16

Junior Member
That's pretty childish of you thinking that I am someone else simply because of a timing issue. I don't know who this girl is I simply agreed to something she said because she was actually right about it. I'm trying to give advice on subject matter that may actually help someone who is simply just looking for guidance. What is your prior or even current service record? Just curious because you seem to act like you have a lot of background in military legal matters yet you also seem to be leading some people down the wrong path.
 

chisasunja

Junior Member
Thank You

@snowchiq16..Thank you for taking the time to really LISTEN to me and not bash me. I truly appreciate your time and help. I have requested and received all my military records and started to fill out the DD 293 form. I agree with you about the general discharge and believe that I should not get an honorable. I will be sending my application this coming week. Thank you again for your time and help...
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
Chis,
You didn't say what state you are in.
Many lawyers volunteer to help vets (of any type). Usually, we become involved in the compensation/disability appeal process, once a claim has been denied.
However, per the attached article, many vets are preempted from seeking VA assistance and benefits (including submitting a claim), and have a hard time getting a job, due to their discharge status (other than Honorable).

There is an appeal process for upgrading; follow through with your request.
Check your local Bar Association (or State Bar) to see if any attorney will volunteer to assist, present and argue your case. Results of discharge upgrades are fairly unpredictable (some vets have successfully argued their transgression was a result of their medical/psych injury; there's a lot of truth to that).
Note the attached refers 'bad paper' discharged vets to a local Bar Association for legal assistance. Check your local (state-wide) area for help.

'Bad paper' discharges can stymie veterans' health care

Also, FYI,
Requests without an advocate or Attorney are usually unsuccessful.
Expect the process to continue for at least one year.
You can apply with documents or personal appearance (in Wa DC, at your expense). Many try the document route, as they can follow up with a personal appearance.

Military Discharge Review Boards
•Discharge Review Boards (5 USC §1553)
•Powers:
•Upgrade the character of service
•Except for that given as the result
of a general court-martial
•Change the narrative reason for
discharge
•Except for to or from a disability
discharge

Also: each service has their own Military Discharge Review Board, with the Marines using the Naval MDRB.

and, check the VA (Veterans Affairs) website for the application.
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
PS: It's a good idea to order your military records, so you have a copy and are aware of what the Board would be looking at.
Again, check the va.gov site; I believe the form is SF-180 to order records.

PPS: It may not result in an upgrade. But it's always worth trying.

and, you never know what might be in your records.
 
Hi all...I have a "special circumstance" situation. I went into the Military in May 2001 healthy and motivated. During Boot Camp I had to get my wisdom teeth removed and encountered a terrible problem. While getting an impacted wisdom tooth removed the Dr. "slipped" causing an immense amount of damage that took several surgeries to repair leaving my main mandibular nerve damaged, partially paralized on parts, large hematoma and mass amount of infection. All this information is documented in my military file. I didn't want to be put on hold and was near the end of Boot Camp so I gave it all I had to get through and graduated Boot Camp, not sure how but I did. Subsequently, I was disqualified from my job due to this injury and sent to THU (temp holding unit) where I underwent more treatment and surgeries. I was on about 7 medicines and heavily sedated along with an anti-depressant. This was not my normal person...was ALWAYS happy, upbeat and optimistic. I couldn't take the situation anymore and went AWOL. I know, now, that this was not correct. I was NOT of sound and mind when this happened and have ALL the documentation to prove it. How do I go about getting my status upgraded? Truthfully, is there ANYTHING I can do? I feel cheated out of a great career in the military due to no fault of my own and now have physical scars I have to live with everyday.

PLEASE HELP! All advice will be taken into consideration...good, bad, agree, not agree..I just need to know what my options are and if I can do anything to upgrade my status to something other than OTH...

Thank you all in advance for taking the time to read and help me out.


How long were you awol for, over 180 days is an automatic bar to VA benefits?
The VA can decide your service was other than dishonorable and still give you benefits for what obviously happened in service. But that is a process you will also have to start and is separate from a discharge review.

It feels like whats holding you back from already sending in your dd-293 is anxiety not the lack of knowledge of who to contact or where to send the info for review.


Do you only have one issue, a medical reason? Being discharges for misconduct takes precedents over being separated for a medical reasons. Going awol was the wrong answer and knowing that now or feeling regret does not change the fact you did it, and the board will regret not being able to help you.
However the DRB will consider your medical issue and the extent to witch it affected you and you actions and just maybe they will upgrade your discharge even though it is unlikely the only way to know is to apply to them.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top