Military Discharge Lawyer | Military Attorneys | Attorneys for Discharge Upgrade Requests

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	Discharge Upgrade Requests If there is an error or an injustice in your military personnel records, or if you have received an unfair or erroneous characterization of service, there is a process available for you to get your records corrected or your discharge upgraded. Mr. Culp can represent you in this process whether you are active duty, a reservist, retired, or separated. Each military branch has two entities that have the authority to either upgrade your discharge or correct your military records: the Discharge Review Board (DRB) and the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR). Mr. Culp can make an application to the appropriate board to get your discharge upgraded or records corrected. Applications alone, without the requisite evidence and argument, are not likely to succeed. You must present a case with relevant and sufficient grounds and material evidence in order to have the board upgrade your discharge or correct your records. To insure the eventual success of your application, an experienced military attorney like Mr. Culp is strongly recommended. There are no automatic upgrades. Discharges are presumed to be fair and legal, and the burden of proof is on the applicant to provide any evidence that they are not. This is why the help of an experienced, military attorney, such as Mr. Culp, can be critical for your application to succeed. Your post-discharge conduct, by itself, is not a ground to have a discharge upgraded. But Mr. Culp can help you to present it to the board to corroborate evidence of your good character. In addition, Mr. Culp can help you obtain any relevant documentary evidence, including any witness statements to be considered for your case. Applicant’s seeking a characterization based partly upon meritorious post-service conduct should also attempt to provide ample supporting documentation of the post-service accomplishments. Examples include but are not limited to school transcripts, letters from employers, letters of recommendation, letters from employers, letters from local police precincts confirming crime-free behavior and letters from voluntary community service activities. This preparation is critical for giving you the best opportunity to succeed in having your discharge upgraded. The DRB-Discharge Review Board The DRB may only upgrade discharges or change the reason for the discharge. It cannot change re-enlistment (RE) codes, reinstate service members, or otherwise modify or change any other contents of military personnel records. Generally, discharges can be upgraded as follows: a General can be upgraded to an Honorable; an Other Than Honorable can be upgraded to a General or Honorable; a Bad Conduct Discharge resulting from a Special Court-martial can be upgraded to an Honorable, General, or Other Than Honorable; and an Other Than Honorable discharge received while in entry level status can be upgraded to an uncharacterized discharge. The DRB cannot review a discharge resulting from a General Court-martial. In addition, it cannot overturn, pardon, or eliminate a court-martial conviction. However, Mr. Culp can help you get the board to possibly change the reason for discharge from misconduct to convenience of the government, for instance. The DRB has strict time limits for receiving applications—it will not accept late applications. You must apply within fifteen years from the date of your discharge. There are two types of reviews, and Mr. Culp can help you with either or both: 1) a documentary review and 2) a personal appearance. For the documentary review, the DRB will consider your personnel, administrative, and medical records, and also consider any other records or materials you submit. It will consider your argument to have your discharge upgraded or to change the basis of your discharge, and it will review any evidence you present. In determining whether a case merits a change the discharge review board looks at many factors including but not limited to: the reason or basis for discharge; the manner of discharge; the length of time since discharge; record of community service and employment; conduct; educational achievement; family relationships; and letters of reference. The DRB does not usually look at court-martial trial records. For the personal appearance review, the DRB will consider all the records and evidence it considers in the documentary review, but you have the added opportunity to address the board, bring any witnesses to testify, and Mr. Culp will have the opportunity to argue your case. You can try both reviews if necessary. In other words, if your documentary review is unsuccessful, then you may request a personal appearance. Both requests must be within the fifteen year limit. The Naval DRB, for U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps personnel, does not travel and is located in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force DRBs are also located in Washington, D.C, but occasionally travel to major cities within the U.S. Mr. Culp is available to travel to any board if it agrees to a personal appearance in your case. If you are looking for an attorney to help prepare your case to the discharge review board, you should set up an initial consultation with Mr Culp.

HADITHA
LCpl Justin Sharratt was one of four Marines charged with murder on December 21, 2006 in connection with the killing of 24 Iraqi men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq. It was the U.S. military's deadliest criminal case to emerge from the Iraq war. LCpl Sharratt faced a life sentence if convicted.

ISKANDARIYAH
On July 1, 2007 Army Sergeant Evan Vela, a Ranger qualified sniper with the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, was charged with the premeditated murder of an Iraqi who had compromised his team’s hide position in the Triangle of Death. Sergeant Vela faced a life sentence if convicted.

RAMADI
On June 25, 2006 the Army charged Specialist Nathan Lynn of the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment with the wrongful killing of an Iraqi who was shot to death while moving tactically on SPC Lynn’s position. SPC Lynn was also charged with conspiracy for his alleged role in planting an AK-47 at the scene.

CHARLES JENKINS
In the early morning hours of January 5, 1965, Sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins deserted his U.S. Army unit in South Korea and walked across the DMZ to North Korea where he remained until 2004. When he escaped North Korea in the summer of 2004, he was charged with desertion and aiding the enemy and faced a possible life sentence.

MAHMUDIYAH
The Al-Mahmudiyah killings occurred on March 12, 2006 in a house located south of Baghdad, Iraq in which four United States soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division raped and murdered a 14 year-old Iraqi girl after murdering her mother, father and 5 year old sister. All four Soldiers faced the possibility of the death sentence.

JALALABAD
On March 4, 2007, a convoy of Special Operations Marines was attacked outside of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. They responded in self defense. After the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission issued a report stating that 12 civilians were killed and 35 wounded, the NCIS initiated an investigation

BAGHDAD
In the Spring of 2007, an infantry First Sergeant, a Platoon Sergeant, and the company medic executed four Iraqi detainees in South Baghdad. SSG Jesse Cunningham revealed the murders and erroneously became one of seven Army soldiers charged with the killings. He faced a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

The information on military courts-martial, military appeals, military parole and clemency, military boards of correction, military discharge upgrade, veterans administration claims, military administrative discharge hearings, and claims against the federal government under the federal tort claims act provided by this Military Defense Attorney /Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, e-mails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice from these military attorneys/lawyers, for any individual case or situation, civilian or military. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute an attorney-client relationship with these U.S. military attorneys/lawyers for any civilian or military purpose, including military courts-martial, military appeals, military parole and clemency, military boards of correction, military discharge upgrade, veterans administration claims, military administrative discharge hearings, and claims against the federal government under the federal tort claims act. The attorney-client relationship with these military attorneys/lawyers will be formed when this office sends out an engagement letter, you (the client) sign and return that letter with the fee agreed upon by you and this office for one or both of these military attorneys/lawyers to represent you as your military attorney/lawyer at locations worldwide such as Fort Hood, Fort Bragg, Iraq, Quantico, Washington, DC, Fort Drum, Fort Stewart, Fort Lewis, Camp Pendleton, Camp LeJune, Schofield Barracks, Norfolk Naval Station, Fort Sam Houston, Fort Bliss, Germany, Korea, Iraq or Afghanistan. The civilian military defense attorneys/lawyers of this firm do not discriminate amongst the U.S. armed services and are prepared to represent U.S. military servicemen and servicemen from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and U.S. Coast Guard.

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