(4) If the Naval Discharge Review Board adopts statements of findings, conclusions and reasons from a prior decisional document for the same applicant, these findings, conclusions and reasons must be restated in the new decisional document.

(5) If a discharge is changed but not to fully honorable, unless a lesser type discharge is specifically requested by the applicant, a statement of the reasons for the decision not to change the discharge to fully honorable.

(e) Advisory opinions, including those containing factual information, where such opinions have been relied upon for final decisions or have been accepted as a basis for rejecting any of the applicant's claims. Such advisory opinions or relevant portions thereof that are not fully set forth in the statement of findings, conclusions, and reasons shall be incorporated by reference therein. A copy of such opinions shall be appended to the decision and included in the record of proceedings.

(f) A record of the Naval Discharge Review Board members' names and votes.

(g) The Naval Discharge Review Board decision and written minority opinions if any. In a unanimous decison the decisional document shall be signed by the presiding officer and authenticated by the recorder. In a split decision all members will sign the decisional document in the place where their vote is recorded. If the decisional document cannot be signed by the presiding officer or authenticated by the recorder by reason of death, disability or absence, the decisional document shall be signed by the next senior officer available and may be authenticated by another member who was actually at the conclusion of the proceedings. If the decisional doc

ument in a split decision cannot be signed by a member(s) by reason of death, disability or absence, the vote of such member(s) may be recorded by another member who was actually present at the conclusion of the proceedings. The decisional document will contain a brief statement explaining any authorized alternative

signature(s).

(h) A verbatim listing of the contentions or issues presented by the applicant, if not included elsewhere.

§ 724.811 Records of Naval Discharge Review Board proceedings.

(a) When the proceedings in any review have been concluded, a record thereof will be prepared.

(b) At a minimum, the record will include the following:

(1) An application for review (except non-motion reviews).

(2) A summary of testimony in personal appearance hearings.

(3) Documentary evidence or copies thereof considered by the Naval Discharge Review Board other than service and health record.

(4) Briefs/arguments submitted by or on behalf of the applicant.

(5) Advisory opinions considered by the Naval Discharge Review Board.

(6) The findings, conclusion, and reasons developed by the Naval Discharge Review Board.

(7) Reference to the document notifying the cognizant personnel manager of the discharge review action in each case.

(8) Minority reports, if any.

(9) A copy of the decisional document (NAVSO 1900/5C).

§ 724.812 Secretarial review of Naval Discharge Review Board decisions.

Cases accepted for review by the Secretary of the Navy, or by one to whom the reviewing authority has been delegated, will be considered in accordance with the standards set forth in Subpart I of this part.

(a) On every decision of the Naval Discharge Review Board that is accepted for review by the Secretary of the Navy, or by one to whom reviewing authority has been delegated, the

decision on review will be made in writing.

(b) In every case, the decision of the Naval Discharge Review Board and reviewing authority, if any, will include a statement of findings, conclusions, and reasons, except where the reviewing authority expressly adopts, in whole or in part, the statement of findings, conclusions and reasons of the Naval Discharge Review Board. Similarly, where the reviewing authority adopts the Naval Discharge Review Board's statement of findings, conclusions, and reasons, there is no requirement for duplicative publication and indexing under terms of § 724.814.

§ 724.813 Final disposition of the record of proceedings.

(a) The original record of proceedings and all appendices thereto shall in all cases be incorporated in the service record of the applicant and the service record shall be returned to the custody of the Naval Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri, via the service personnel manager, if applicable.

(b) A case file consisting of a complete copy of the record of the Naval Discharge Review Board proceedings and hearing transcripts, if any, shall be maintained for reference by the Naval Discharge Review Board for a period of one year, after which the copy of the record of proceedings shall be destroyed or transferred to the Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland.

§ 724.814 Availability of Naval Discharge Review Board documents for public inspection and copying.

(a) A copy of the decisional document prepared in accordance with § 724.810 shall be made available for public inspection and copying promptly after a notice of final decision is sent to the applicant.

(b) To the extent required to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, identifying details of the applicant and other persons will be deleted from documents made available for public inspection and copying. Names, addresses, social security numbers, and military service numbers must be deleted. Written jus

tification shall be made for all other deletions and shall be available for public inspection.

(c) Any other privileged or classified material contained in or appended to any documents required by this instruction to be furnished the applicant and counsel/representative or made available for public inspection and copying may be deleted therefrom, only if a written statement of the basis for the deletions is provided the applicant and counsel/representative and made available for public inspection. It is not intended that the statement be so detailed as to reveal the nature of the withheld material.

(d) Naval Discharge Review Board documents made available for public inspection and copying shall be located in the Armed Forces Discharge Review/Correction Board Reading Room. The documents shall be indexed in a usable and concise form so as to enable the public and those who represent applicants before the Naval Discharge Review Board to isolate from all these decisions that are indexed, those cases that may be similar to an applicant's case and that indicate the circumstances under, and/or reasons for, which the Naval Discharge Review Board or the Secretary of the Navy granted or denied relief.

(1) The reading file index shall include, in addition to any other items determined by the Naval Discharge Review Board, the case number, the date, the type, the reason/basis, and authority for the discharge. It shall further include the decisions of the Naval Discharge Review Board and reviewing authority, if any, and the issues addressed in the statement of findings, conclusions and reasons.

(2) The index should be made available at sites selected for Naval Discharge Review Board Traveling Panel reviews at least 30 days prior to the arrival of the Panel. Applicants at such sites shall be so advised in the notice of scheduled reviews.

(3) The Naval Discharge Review Board is responsible for timely submission to the Reading Room of individual case information required for a quarterly update of indexes. The indexes shall be available for public inspection and/or purchase at the Read

ing Room. This information will be provided to applicants in the notice of scheduled hearings.

(4) Correspondence relating to matters under the cognizance of the Reading Room (including requests for purchase of indexes) shall be addressed to:

Armed Forces Discharge Review/Correction Board Reading Room, The Pentagon Concourse, Washington, D.C. 20310.

§ 724.815 Privacy Act information.

Information protected under the Privacy Act is involved in the discharge review functions. The provisions of DoD Directive 5400.11 will be observed throughout the processing of a request for review of discharge.

Subpart I-Standards for Discharge Review

§ 724.901 Objective of discharge review.

The objective of a discharge review is to examine the propriety and equity of the applicant's discharge and to effect changes, if necessary. The standards of review and the underlying factors which aid in determining whether the standards are met shall be historically consistent with criteria for determining honorable naval service. No factors shall be established which require automatic change or denial of a change in a discharge. Neither the Naval Discharge Review Board nor the Secretary of the Navy shall be bound by any methodology of weighing of the factors in reaching a determination. In each case, the Naval Discharge Review Board or the Secretary of the Navy shall give full, fair, and impartial consideration to all applicable factors prior to reaching a decision.

§ 724.902 Propriety of the discharge.

A discharge shall be deemed to be proper unless, in the course of discharge review, it is determined that:

(a) There exists an error of fact, law, procedure or discretion associated with the discharge at the time of issuance; and that the rights of the applicant were prejudiced thereby. Such error shall constitute prejudicial error, if there is substantial doubt that the

discharge would have remained the same if the error had not been made;

or

(b) A change in policy by the military service of which the applicant was a member, made expressly retroactive to the type of discharge under consideration, requires a change in the discharge.

§ 724.903 Equity of the discharge.

A discharge shall be deemed to be equitable unless:

(a) In the course of a discharge review, it is determined that the policies and procedures under which the applicant was discharged differ in material respects from policies and procedures currently applicable on a service-wide basis to discharges of the type under consideration, provided that:

(1) Current policies or procedures represent a substantial enhancement of the rights afforded the applicant in such proceedings; and

(2) There is substantial doubt that the applicant would have received the same discharge if relevant current policies and procedures had been available to the applicant at the time of the discharge proceedings under consideration; or

(b) At the time of issuance, the discharge was inconsistent with standards of discipline in the military service of which the applicant was a member; or

(c) In the course of a discharge review, it is determined that relief is warranted based upon consideration of the applicant's service record and other evidence presented to the Naval Discharge Review Board viewed in conjunction with the factors listed in this subparagraph and the service regulations under which the applicant was discharged, even though the discharge was determined to have been otherwise equitable and proper at the time of issuance. Areas of consideration include, but are not limited to:

(1) Quality of service, as evidenced by factors such as:

(i) Service history, including date of enlistment, period of enlistment, highest rank/rate achieved, conduct or efficiency evaluations (numerical or narrative).

(ii) Awards and decorations.

(iii) Letters of commendation or reprimand.

(iv) Combat service.

(v) Wounds received in action.

(vi) Records of promotions and demotions.

(vii) Level of responsibility at which the applicant served.

(viii) Other acts of merit that may not have resulted in a formal recognition through an award or commendation.

(ix) Length of service during the service period which is the subject of the discharge review.

(x) Prior military service and type of discharge received or outstanding post-service conduct to the extent that such matters provide a basis for a more thorough understanding of the performance of the applicant during the period of service which is the subject of the discharge review.

(xi) Convictions by court-martial. (xii) Records of nonjudicial punishment.

(xiii) Convictions by civil authorities while a member of the naval service, reflected in the discharge proceedings or otherwise noted in the service records.

(xiv) Records of periods of unauthorized absence.

(xv) Records relating to a discharge in lieu of court-martial.

(2) Capability to serve, as evidenced by factors such as:

(i) Total capabilities. This includes an evaluation of matters such as age, education level, and aptitude scores. Consideration may also be given as to whether the individual met normal military standards of acceptability for naval service and similar indicators of an individual's ability to serve satisfactorily, as well as ability to adjust to the naval service.

(ii) Family/personal problems. This includes matters in extenuation or mitigation of the reason for discharge that may have affected the applicant's ability to serve satisfactorily.

(iii) Arbitrary or capricious actions. This includes actions by individuals in authority which constitute a clear abuse of such authority and which, although not amounting to prejudicial error, may have contributed to the de

cision to discharge or to the characterization of service.

(iv) Discrimination. This includes unauthorized acts as documented by records or other evidence.

Subpart J-Director, Naval Council for Personnel Boards and President, Naval Naval Discharge Discharge Review Board

§ 724.1001 Mission.

To oversee and administer discharge review procedures within the Department of the Navy.

§ 724.1002 Functions: Director, Naval Council of Personnel Boards.

(a) Make recommendations to the Secretary of the Navy regarding the organization, tasking and resources of the Naval Discharge Review Board and its associated administative support.

(b) Submit recommendations to the Secretary of the Navy regarding policy and procedures for discharge review.

(c) Provide administrative and clerical support for the Naval Discharge Review Board.

(d) Inform the Secretary of the Navy of matters of interest to him.

(e) Maintain a system of records, including as a minimum:

(1) Records specified for the Naval Discharge Review Board as stipulated in the procedures prescribed in Subpart H of this part.

(2) Records required for the administration of military and civilian personnel.

(3) Files of correspondence received and issued.

(f) Prepare and submit to the Secretary of the Navy, a semiannual report covering the operations of the Naval Discharge Review Board.

(g) Establish billet/position assignment criteria for the Naval Discharge Review Board.

(h) Propose to the Secretary of the Navy, changes to the Department of the Navy Manual for Discharge Review.

(1) Issue requisite precepts and remove or add members to Naval Discharge Review Board from personnel detailed to serve on the Naval Council

of Personel Boards, or from personnel otherwise made available.

§ 724.1003 Functions: President, Naval Discharge Review Board.

(a) Exercise primary cognizance within the Department of the Navy for matters relating to discharge review.

(b) Supervise and direct the activities of the Naval Discharge Review Board.

(c) Maintain appropriate liaison with discharge review activities in other services: Use Army Discharge Review Board as focal point for service coordination.

(d) Maintain coordination with the Commandant of the Marine Corps (Code M) and the Chief of Naval Personnel in matters associated with discharge review.

(e) Screen all cases forwarded to the Secretary. In those cases, the President shall provide the Secretary with the Record of Review of Discharge (NAVSO 1900/5C), the service and health records, if available, a statement of the President's findings, conclusions, and reasons, except in the event that he expressly adopts the statement of findings, conclusions, and reasons of the Panel, and any additional statements submitted by the applicant pursuant to § 724.501(g), Where the President adopts such statements, publication and indexing under the terms of § 724.814 is not required where such would duplicate existing publication and indexing of the same material.

(f) In conformance with Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5211.5A, protect the privacy of individuals in connection with discharge review.

(g) Assure that Naval Discharge Review Board functions are administered in accordance with the appropriate Secretary of the Navy instructions dealing with privacy and access to information.

(h) Convene the Naval Discharge Review Board as authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.

(i) Direct the movements of the Naval Discharge Review Board Traveling Panel(s) on the basis of regional hearing requests.

(j) Monitor the performance of the naval discharge review system. Make recommendations for changes and improvements. Take action to avoid delays in processing of individual discharge review actions.

(k) Provide Naval Discharge Review Board inputs for the maintenance of a public reading file and maintain associated Naval Discharge Review Board indexes updated quarterly.

Subpart K-Responsibilities in Support of the Naval Discharge Review Board

§ 724.1101 Responsibility.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Chief of Naval Personnel, Chief of Naval Reserve, Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and chiefs of other bureaus and offices of the Department of the Navy shall provide limited support to the Naval Discharge Review Board.

§ 724.1102 Functions of the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Chief of Naval Personnel.

(a) Provide and facilitate access by the Naval Discharge Review Board to service/health records and other data associated with performance of duty of applicants.

(b) Advise the Naval Discharge Review Board of developments in personnel management which may have a bearing on discharge review judgments.

(c) Implement the discharge review decisions of the Naval Discharge Review Board and those of higher authority within respective areas of cognizance.

(d) Include the record of Naval Discharge Review Board proceedings as a permanent part of the service record of the applicant in each case.

(e) Issue clemency discharge certificate when notified that an individual has met the requirements.

(f) Where appropriate, recommend cases for Naval Discharge Review Board review on its own motion.

(g) Provide qualified personnel as Naval Discharge Review Board members, recorders and administrative staff.