Your military discharge and service records can affect your access to VA benefits and can follow you long after your military service ends. If you believe your discharge was unjust, erroneous, or does not accurately reflect the circumstances of your service, you may have the right to ask the Military to review and correct your records.
At Greene & Marusak, we help veterans navigate the legal process involved in seeking military discharge upgrades and corrections to military records.
A discharge upgrade is a change to the characterization of a veteran’s military service as recorded on the veteran’s DD-214.
Depending on the circumstances, a veteran may seek to change a discharge that was characterized as:
A discharge upgrade can potentially remove significant barriers to benefits and opportunities available to veterans. However, not every unfavorable discharge is automatically eligible for an upgrade. Circumstances surrounding the discharge, applicable military regulations, available evidence, and reason for the discharge are all important factors.
A correction of military records is a request to change inaccurate, incomplete, or unjust information in a veteran’s official military records.
Depending on the circumstances, a request may involve issues such as:
The appropriate review board and application process can depend on the type of correction being requested and the veteran’s branch of service.
The appropriate board for these cases depends on the veteran’s circumstances, branch of service, type of correction requested, and when the veteran was discharged.
Two common avenues include:
Discharge Review Boards, also known as DRBs, decide if a veteran’s separation from service was fair, equitable, and done properly according to the regulations in place at the time.
DRBs generally must be submitted within 15 years from the date of discharge. If it has been more than 15 years, the case may instead need to be brought before a Board for Correction of Military Records.
Boards for Correction of Military Records, often referred to as BCMRs, are the highest level of administrative review for each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces used to correct or remove injustices in official service records.
These boards can address certain corrections that fall outside the authority of a DRB and may have authority to make broader corrections to a veteran’s service records.
Rules and deadlines may vary depending on the military department and circumstances of the case.
The appropriate board for these cases depends on the veteran’s circumstances, branch of service, type of correction requested, and when the veteran was discharged.
Discharge Review Boards, also known as DRBs, decide if a veteran’s separation from service was fair, equitable, and done properly according to the regulations in place at the time.
DRBs generally must be submitted within 15 years from the date of discharge. If it has been more than 15 years, the case may instead need to be brought before a Board for Correction of Military Records.
Boards for Correction of Military Records, often referred to as BCMRs, are the highest level of administrative review for each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces used to correct or remove injustices in official service records.
These boards can address certain corrections that fall outside the authority of a DRB and may have authority to make broader corrections to a veteran’s service records.
Rules and deadlines may vary depending on the military department and circumstances of the case.
If you believe your military discharge or service records do not accurately reflect your service, do not assume there is nothing you can do.
Greene & Marusak can help you understand your options and determine whether pursuing a discharge upgrade or correction of your military records may be appropriate.
Contact us for a Case Review today.
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