Helping Service Members and Veterans Correct Errors and Injustices in Their Military Records
A military record is the official account of a service member’s career, conduct, and character. Errors, inaccuracies, and unjust entries in that record can affect promotions, retirement eligibility, veterans’ benefits, discharge characterization, and civilian employment opportunities long after a service member has left active duty. For many veterans, an incorrect or unfair military record represents an ongoing injustice that continues to cause real harm years after the underlying events occurred.
At Corrao & Robles Law, attorney Nelson Robles represents service members and veterans seeking to correct errors and injustices in their military records throughout the East Coast and in applicable federal matters. As a Judge Advocate General (JAG), he understands how military records are created, maintained, and reviewed, and how to navigate the complex administrative processes that govern their correction.
Why Military Records Matter
Military records govern a wide range of consequential determinations that affect both active duty service members and veterans long after separation. An inaccurate or unjust record can result in:
Because so many critical determinations flow from the content of a military record, correcting errors and removing unjust entries is not merely an administrative formality — it is a matter with direct and lasting financial and personal consequences.
Common Types of Military Record Errors and Injustices
Military records can contain a wide variety of errors and unjust entries, ranging from clerical mistakes to substantive injustices arising from improper disciplinary proceedings or biased evaluations. Common issues include:
Each of these issues requires a different approach depending on the nature of the error, the branch of service involved, and the administrative body with authority to grant relief.
The Boards for Correction of Military Records
The primary avenue for correcting military records is through the branch-specific Boards for Correction of Military Records. Each branch of the military maintains its own correction board — the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), the Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR), the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR), and their counterparts in other branches.
These boards have broad authority to correct any military record when necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice. They can modify discharge characterizations, remove adverse evaluation reports, correct personnel records, restore benefits, and grant a wide range of other relief. Applications to these boards must be supported by a well-documented legal argument that clearly identifies the error or injustice and explains why correction is warranted.
Discharge Upgrade Applications
One of the most common and consequential record correction matters involves seeking an upgrade to an unfavorable discharge characterization. Veterans who received other than honorable, bad conduct, or dishonorable discharges may be significantly limited in their access to VA benefits, healthcare, education assistance, and other support programs. In many cases, discharge characterizations that were issued years or decades ago do not accurately reflect the full circumstances surrounding a veteran’s separation.
The Discharge Review Boards maintained by each branch have authority to upgrade discharges that were inequitable or improper. Applications must be submitted within fifteen years of separation for the Discharge Review Board, while the Boards for Correction of Military Records can consider applications beyond that window in appropriate circumstances. Veterans whose discharges were connected to mental health conditions, military sexual trauma, or other mitigating factors may have particularly strong grounds for upgrade consideration under current Department of Defense policies.
Correcting Performance Evaluations and Officer Evaluation Reports
Performance evaluations and officer evaluation reports are among the most consequential documents in a service member’s record, directly affecting promotion eligibility, assignment opportunities, and career trajectory. When an evaluation contains factual errors, was prepared by a biased or retaliatory supervisor, or fails to comply with applicable regulatory standards, it can unfairly derail a service member’s career.
Successfully challenging an adverse evaluation requires demonstrating either that it contains specific factual inaccuracies or that it was prepared in a manner that violated applicable regulations. Supporting documentation, statements from fellow service members, and evidence of the evaluating officer’s bias or improper motive can all be relevant to a correction petition.
Disability Ratings and Medical Record Corrections
Errors in military medical records can have significant downstream consequences for disability ratings and veterans’ benefit determinations. When a service member’s medical record does not accurately reflect the nature or severity of conditions incurred or aggravated during service, it can result in an inaccurate disability rating that undervalues the true extent of service-connected impairment.
Correcting medical record errors, ensuring that service-connected conditions are properly documented, and challenging disability rating determinations that do not reflect the actual record are all matters that benefit from experienced legal representation before the correction boards and, where appropriate, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Deadlines and Time Limitations
Applications to the Boards for Correction of Military Records must generally be filed within three years of the discovery of the error or injustice, although the boards have discretion to waive this limitation when it would be in the interest of justice to do so. Discharge Review Board applications must be submitted within fifteen years of the date of discharge.
Because these deadlines can significantly affect available options, and because gathering the documentation needed to support a correction application takes time, beginning the process as early as possible is important.
When to Speak With a Military Record Corrections Attorney
Contact an attorney as soon as possible if any of the following apply:
Work With Corrao & Robles Law
A military record that does not accurately reflect a service member’s true history of service is an injustice that deserves to be corrected. Attorney Nelson Robles brings firsthand knowledge of the military system and the administrative processes that govern record corrections to every case he handles, working to ensure that each client’s record reflects the truth of their service.
Corrao & Robles Law represents service members and veterans pursuing military record corrections throughout the East Coast and in applicable federal matters, and is prepared to discuss your situation in a confidential consultation.