MILITARY DEFENSE LAWYERS SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Why Daniel Conway and Associates?
Your Service Deserves Accurate Records
You spent a career serving faithfully every single day. Obeying orders, leading with distinction, and receiving honors along the way. Your career may have even taken you to far-flung corners of the globe, assessing and mitigating threats to the country that you love. And after all your patriotism and service, a harsh DD 214.
Your world is turned upside down. Everything you worked so hard to accomplish was thrown out with seemingly no explanation. As you enter civilian life, immense challenges await thanks to a less-than-honorable discharge. Reduced or no Veteran’s Affairs benefits, no GI bill education, no retirement, and no civilian career options. The future you were promised—the life you earned through blood, sweat, and tears—was ripped from you. Whether injustice or error, it demands a careful review. But how can you get one?
You do have options whenever there is an issue with a military record, whether your discharge paperwork, reprimands, or an evaluation. You can consult with trusted and experienced counsel to demand that your service branch reviews your case. Reclaim the future you imagined with the assistance of an advocate with winning experience correcting military records. Turn to the accomplished team at Daniel Conway & Associates.
With so much at stake, you need a reliable ally with a proven record of success. At Daniel Conway & Associates, we explore every option and have argued worldwide before every branch. We understand how each branch’s boards operate, what your case needs, and how to win. Your career deserves better. Call us today for a free consultation with a military defense lawyer.
Advancing Careers Case by Case
Errors and Injustice Happen Even at the Highest Levels
The Secretary of a military department can correct any military record to remedy an error or injustice, according to Title 10 U.C.C 1552. If there’s an error in one of your records, you are within your rights to have it addressed and fixed. Likewise, if you believe that harmful elements of your military record are due to bias or unfair treatment, you can correct those injustices.
The Secretary of each military department (the Army, Navy, and Air Force) has created several boards to review and adjudicate applications to correct military records. At the top of each department is their respective Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR). Military record changes must exhaust every other avenue before they can be brought before that department’s BCMR.
The regulations for correcting military records operate similarly because each department complies with the same overarching law above. An experienced military lawyer will know and understand the differences between each branch. Below is a brief overview of the general process for correcting military records.
Statute of Limitations
Typically, a three-year statute of limitations exists to apply for a correction in your military record. However, you can still apply for corrections beyond three years. In those instances, you must show why you delayed and that there was an injustice that the board should seek to remedy. Applying beyond the three years adds another rung on your ladder to justice, so applying as soon as you notice the error or injustice is essential.
Application and Forms
There are two primary forms that service members or veterans need to fill out to have records corrected: DD Form 293 and DD Form 149. Service members should use DD293 when seeking to have their discharge upgraded, and DD 149 is used for appeals to the respective department’s BCMR.
The application should also include other information relevant to the error or injustice. These may include eyewitness statements from commanders or others who served alongside you and a brief of arguments. These memos record official explanations for actions taken and can be critical in correcting records. Contact experienced counsel because the boards do not investigate claims and will only consider the evidence presented in the application. Your lawyer will prepare essential witness statements and draft a persuasive argument to get a correction of military records.
Service members do not have a right to live hearing when they apply to correct military records. They may request a hearing, but the boards determine if their case merits a hearing. Yet again, it’s vital that you have representation to put the most compelling written application together. It may be your only chance at having records changed and benefits granted.
Administrative Denials
Sometimes, there may be an administrative reason for a change denial. The Air Force states that most changes are denied due to missing social security numbers, addresses, or signatures. These cases are closed without prejudice, meaning the board will reconsider the change once the applicant provides the missing information.
If an application merits a correction, that change should be made within 3-4 months of the published decision.
Trusted Record Correction in All Branches
Various records require correction for any service member. A few common and consequential examples are evaluation reports, reprimands, and discharge upgrades. Our firm has a wealth of experience in helping service members get the promotions, recognition, and benefits they deserve.
Evaluation Report Appeals
Service members looking for promotion or retention must ensure their evaluation reports accurately reflect their service. When inaccuracies or intentional mischaracterizations occur, you need an experienced team to review the case and pursue a swift correction. The harms that inaccurate evaluation reports cause may require financial compensation to fix.
We’ve built a reputation at Daniel Conway & Associates on our results.
- In October 2019, Mr. Pristera successfully argued before the Air Force Evaluation Appeal Board (ERAB) for the removal of an Enlisted Performance Report (EPR) based on an improperly conducted and flawed investigation into alleged misconduct.
- In May 2016, we obtained the removal of an associated officer evaluation report. We achieved a favorable result at a promotion review board for an Army colonel with an adverse Inspector General’s investigation, claiming that he failed to promote a healthy command climate while deployed to Iraq.
Reprimand Appeals
Service members also suffer from flawed reprimands issued by biased commanders. These reprimands can severely disrupt a career and sometimes cause immediate separation. Highlighting errors or injustices at hand can dramatically improve career prospects for impacted service members.
We fight tenaciously to get service members the fair treatment they’ve earned:
- In March 2019, Mr. Pristera saved the career of a young Army officer by successfully arguing for a local filing of a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR).
- In September 2018, Ms. Johnson-Naumann represented an Airman before the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR) and obtained her promotion to Chief Master Sergeant. The AFBCMR also ordered the removal of her referral Enlisted Performance Report, Letter of Reprimand, and all references to her removal as a Superintendent and further directed that she be awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
Discharge Reviews
The DD214 is one of the most consequential pieces of paper in any service member’s career. It impacts nearly every aspect of civilian life and veteran’s benefits. A less-than-honorable discharge can occur for many reasons, but these aren’t always warranted. Biased evaluations and unfair reprimands used to determine the discharge can severely damage the lives of service members.
Recently, the BCMRs have been looking more favorably on service members who had unfavorable discharges due to mental health conditions, like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). They are also more likely to consider upgrades where the discharged service member experienced sexual assault or harassment during military service or was discharged unfavorably because of their sexual orientation (including under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy).
Upgrading discharges creates a real improvement for service members, veterans, and their families. We’re proud of our record advocating for these upgrades:
- In April 2023, Mr. Pristera obtained an upgraded discharge from Other than Honorable to Honorable before the Naval Discharge Review Board.
- In July 2020, Mr. Galli represented a former Airman seeking an upgrade to his characterization of service via the Air Force Discharge Review Board. Mr. Galli successfully secured an upgrade of the client’s characterization to Honorable based on equitable grounds, which also resulted in favorable changes to the client’s narrative reason for separation.
If you received an unjust, other-than-honorable discharge, contact us today for a free consultation. We help our clients secure the life and benefits they deserve.
Boards Regulations By Branch
The Army, Navy, and Air Force Secretaries each have the power to change military records. They delegate that responsibility through the advice of various boards housed within each military board agency. The regulations for these procedures and boards may use slightly different language depending on the department.
- The Army regulations, for instance, are in AR 15-185. The various lower Army boards can be found at the Army’s Review Board Agency page. These regulations outline the application procedure, considerations, and burden of proof for changes. They also clearly indicate that there is no right to a hearing.
- The Air Force instruction is at AFI 36-2603. The review board, which also applies to Space Force members, is found at the Air Force Review Board Agency. The Air Force is unique because it also staffs and houses the Department of Defense Discharge Appeal Review Board. This is the highest discharge review board, sitting above each department’s discharge review board and BCMR.
- The Rules of the Board for Correction of Naval Records are in the Code of Federal Regulations at 32 C.F.R. Part 723. Instructions are also available at SECNAVINST 5420.193. The Board for Correction of Naval Records also adjudicates Marine Corps applicants.
- The Coast Guard directive is COMDTINST 1071.1. Although the Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and not DoD, it adheres to the same guidelines outlined in Title 10 U.C.C 1552. Like the other military branches, its BCMR also requires a DD 149.
More board resources are available on our Military Law Resources page
The Stakes Are Too High To Go Alone
Whether you’re seeking to keep your military career alive, a promotion, or the benefits you fought for, having experienced legal counsel working on your behalf can be the difference you need. Inaccurate or unjust military records hamper your military and civilian career prospects, your healthcare benefits, and retirement benefits.
Unfortunately, many service members mistakenly believe correcting military records will be easy. One challenge is that service members are placed under a high burden of proof because the military board reviewing the case operates under a presumption of regularity. For example, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records will assume that any commanders, officers, or other officials who made the initial determination did so in good faith, following all proper procedures.
Errors can also frequently occur because of the number of service members and veterans in the United States. With so many errors, the review board agencies are backed up with applications. Each BCMR must review and adjudicate 90% of cases within ten months and resolve all their cases within 18 months. The Board for Corrections of Naval Records alone receives 10,000 applications each year. With tens of thousands of applications, many service members don’t receive the careful consideration they deserve.
Another compounding issue is the composition of these boards. They are not comprised of legal and military experts who only adjudicate these reviews. Instead, they are appointed to these boards in addition to their regular service, have nor require legal training, and receive no additional training while on the board. This makes the average military board more reliant on the presumption of regularity, making corrections harder to achieve.
Service members are taught to rely on their team when they face steep challenges. The same is true for correcting military records. Clients count on our experienced team of lawyers at Daniel Conway & Associates to get them the records and benefits they earned.
A Total Commitment to Clients
You fought for your country, and you never wanted to fight against your country. But when unfair and inaccurate records strip you of your career and benefits, it’s time to take action. Service members need clear and persuasive applications because the BCMR and lower boards take a favorable view of the original records.
At Daniel Conway & Associates, we’ve argued before each branch’s Board for Corrections of Military Records. We don’t fight just for a correction. We fight for everything our clients have fought and earned throughout their military careers. Bad records cost our clients promotions, awards, pay, and benefits. We make a commitment to our clients to fight for everything those inaccurate records have taken from them. Call us today for a free consultation and see how we can fight for you.
