The Department of the Army has a maze of administrative review boards which can be difficult to navigate. Understanding the different boards, their functions, and the type of relief that can be granted is critical for Soldiers seeking to correct their official military record.
MJA has successfully helped service members correct errors and injustices in their military records. If you need relief from one of the Army’s administrative review boards, contact us today for your free consultation.
ARMY ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARDS
The Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) serves as the highest administrative level of review within the Department of the Army. The ARBA administers the following boards:
- Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR)
- Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB)
- Army Grade Determination Review Board (AGDRB)
- Army Active-Duty Board
- Army Board of Review for Eliminations
- Army Ad Hoc Board
- Army Physical Disability Appeal Board
- Army Physical Disability Review Board (APDRB)
- Army Clemency and Parole Board
- Army Special Review Board (ASRB) [Evaluation Appeals]
- Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board (DASEB)
- Department of the Army Conscientious Objector Board (DACORB)
TYPES AND FUNCTION OF REVIEW BOARDS
Army Board for Correction of Military Records: The ABCMR is the highest level of administrative review within the Department of the Army with the mission to correct errors or injustices in Army military records. Soldiers must exhaust administrative remedies before appealing to the ABCMR.
Army Discharge Review Board: The ADRB reviews requests to change a veteran’s administrative discharge and to change the characterization of service and/or the reason for discharge. The veteran has the burden to prove the existence of an error or injustice to support the requested change and must file their appeal with 15 years of discharge.
Army Grade Determination Review Board: The AGDRB determines the highest grade in which a Soldier served satisfactorily. This determination of service can have pay implications for retired enlisted Soldiers and Officers.
Army Physical Disability Review Board: The APDRB can review decisions made by a retiring Board, medical Board, or other disposition Board denying a service member’s disability claim upon separation or retirement. Soldiers or former Soldiers who separated or retired from active duty within the past 15 years with a physical disability separation without pay for such physical disability, may be eligible to apply to this Board.
Army Clemency and Parole Board: The ACPB conducts clemency, parole and mandatory supervised release hearings for eligible Army prisoners and supervisees. Clemency and parole eligibility dates are determined by the length of the adjudged sentence.
Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board: The DASEB reviews appeals to remove unfavorable information or move unfavorable information into the restricted section of the Soldier’s OMPF. Army Regulation 600-37, Unfavorable Information, describes how and when service members should submit such appeals.
BOARDS OF REVIEW “READING ROOMS”
The Department of Defense requires an “Electronic Reading Room” for the Military Departments’ Boards for the Corrections of Military/Naval Records and the Discharge Review Boards. The reading room contains decisions for each of the Boards from October 1998 to the present for public research. Applicants intending to file a petition with ARBA should search the “Reading Room” for decisional documents which may be helpful to their petition.
The “Reading Room” also contains board statistics. These statistics track the number and type of applications filed, whether the petitions involve claims of mental health or sexual assault, and in what percentage of cases the boards granted relief.
CONTACT US TODAY
MJA has successfully helped service members correct errors and injustices in their military records. If you believe you may be entitled to relief, contact us today for your free consultation.
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