Military Law & Life Matters

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**Military Law & Life Matters**

Arm yourself with knowledge, know your rights, and avoid becoming a victim of injustice. The Military Law &Life Matters Podcast empowers you to take charge of military law issues such as how to upgrade your discharge, what to do when facing an Officer Grade Determination to other legal issues we may face at various stages of our life. In addition to legal topics, the podcast will also cover Life Matters–Life Lessons I’ve learned along the way. This podcast is for our Heroes: Active Duty, Reserve, Guard, Veterans, Retirees and Family Members,

Latest Episodes:

MLM 119 - Cases decided by the Naval Discharge Review Board Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

Listen to this podcast to learn about cases decided by the Naval Discharge Review Board.

Boards of Review Reading Rooms website below:

https://boards.law.af.mil/

MLM 118 - Cases decided by the Army Discharge Review Board Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

Listen to this podcast to learn about cases decided by the Army Discharge Review Board in 2022.

Boards of Review Reading Rooms website below:

https://boards.law.af.mil/

MLM 117 - Cases decided by the Air Force Discharge Review Board related to COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

MLM 117 - Cases decided by the Air Force Discharge Review Board (AFDRB) related to COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal.

Listen to this podcast to learn why the Air Force upgraded Veterans' discharges who were discharged with general discharges (under honorable conditions) for refusing the Covid-19 Vaccine.

Read cases decided by the Service Discharge Review Boards in the Boards of Review Reading Rooms website below:

https://boards.law.af.mil/

The website below addresses COVID-10 Vaccination Mandate Rescission Information for Currently Serving Air Force Members and Discharged Air Force Service Members

https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil/#covid

The Air Force Review Boards Agency (AFRBA) states that If you were administratively discharged solely for failing to obey a lawful order to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, the Department of Defense was precluded by law from awarding any characterization less than a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge. If you are seeking a correction to the characterization of your discharge (character of service, narrative reason and/or reenlistment eligibility code), follow the standard procedures to petition the Air Force Discharge Review Board." (see link below)

https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil/#board-info/drb/navbar

MLM 116 - Lawsuits against the Air Force & Department of Defense relating to Unjust Discharges Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Learn how two lawsuits against the Air Force and the Department of Defense may impact your discharge and DD Form 214.

1) The Air Force lawsuit "challenges the AFDRB’s systemic denial of discharge status upgrades to Air Force veterans who (1) served during the Iraq and Afghanistan era, (2) received less-than-Honorable discharges, and (3) incurred service-connected mental health conditions such as PTSD (and related conditions), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or experiences of MST or IPV. (Intimate Partner Violence). They allege that the Air Force has arbitrarily and capriciously failed to apply DoD’s policy of liberal consideration to discharge upgrade applications filed by these veterans."

2) The DoD lawsuit alleges that the "Government’s discriminatory dismissal of LGBTQ+ service members on the basis of their actual or perceived “homosexuality” was unconstitutional. Likewise, the Government’s issuance of DD-214 forms with discriminatory narrative reasons for separation, separation codes, and reenlistment bars is unconstitutional. LGBTQ+ veterans are not treated equally to other veterans, who are issued dismissal paperwork free of references to their sexual orientation."

The plaintiffs asks the Court to require Defendants to conduct a comprehensive review of every discharge processed pursuant to DADT and its predecessor policies and systematically remove all indicators of sexual orientation—including (1) narrative reasons for separation, and (2) affiliated separation codes from veterans’ DD-214s (and reenlistment codes)—and to require the Defendants to systematically upgrade discharge characterizations to Honorable.

UPDATE: "On Sept. 20, 2023, DoD announced it will proactively review military records of veterans whose military records indicate their administrative separation was the result of their sexual orientation and who received a less than honorable conditions discharge. The department will first identify veterans discharged during the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" period (1994-2011) and then take steps to retrieve their relevant military records, for example from the National Archives. After a preliminary review and an assessment that an upgrade in discharge may be warranted, DOD will transmit the names to the service secretaries for consideration and potential correction through the Military Department Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCM/NR)."

Click on the DoD DADT Resources page link below for more information.

https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/Dont-Ask-Dont-Tell-Resources/

The Air Force Review Boards Agency website also has information pertaining to the Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) Repeal and correcting your records.

https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil/#dadt

Never ever give up - There is always Hope

MLM 115 - Discharge Upgrades -- What you Need to Know Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

Military Discharge Upgrades

Knowledge is Power. If you are thinking about trying to upgrade your discharge and want to learn the basics on how to go about the process, take a look at Episode # 106. This episode and its shownotes give you a synopsis of all of the MLM episodes I have done in the past several years that discuss Discharge Upgrades.

You may decide to prepare the application yourself after listening to the episodes. If not, you will be armed with knowledge so when you speak with an attorney, you know the critical information you will need to convey to them as they evaluate your case.

Wishing you all the best with the process!

Remember, never ever give up There is always Hope!

MLM 114 - Attorney Pete Faerber (Lt Col, USMC, Ret) - Founder of Non-Profit - The Warriors' Lawyer - Disability Evaluation System Experts Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Attorney Pete Faerber has a long history of military service. He was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1992 and served as a pilot on active duty for 10 years, with the most flight time in the AH-1W Supra Cobra. After ten years on active duty, Pete attended law school and then served as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps, retiring in January 2021 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Pete has more than 13 years of experience in the Disability Evaluation System (DES). After helping clients navigate through the DES, Pete decided that he wanted to establish a non-profit to help active duty members and veterans navigate the DES. Pete founded The Warriors’ Lawyer, the only certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with an exclusive focus on protecting the rights and entitlements of injured service members. The Warriors’ Lawyer’s mission is to ensure the wounded, ill, or injured Service Members and Veterans are afforded their full rights to determination and appeal within the DoD’s Disability Evaluation System – at NO COST to the member.

Learn more about the Warriors' Lawyer at their website below:

https://www.thewarriorslawyer.org/

MLM 113 - Attorney Davis Younts - The January 2023 DoD Recission of COVID Vaccine Mandate & How it affects Military Members & Veterans Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Attorney Davis Younts talks about how the January 10, 2023 Secretary of Defense Rescission of the COVID Vaccine Mandate affects Military Members & Veterans.

Davis Younts is an experienced military law attorney with 20 years of legal experience. He is a former active duty Judge Advocate who served as the Chief of Military Justice at the Air Force JAG School and as the Staff Judge Advocate at multiple Wings. Davis is currently a Lt Col in the USAF Reserve. Davis focuses his civilian legal practice on military law including court-martial defense, adverse actions, and military records corrections.

Davis has represented military members who refused the COVID vaccine at discharge boards and in court. If you haven’t listened to his first interview on the COVID Vaccine mandates from March 2022, it's a great introduction-- Episode #94.

https://yountslaw.com/

DoD Memo Rescinding COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate:

https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jan/10/2003143118/-1/-1/1/SECRETARY-OF-DEFENSE-MEMO-ON-RESCISSION-OF-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-REQUIREMENTS-FOR-MEMBERS-OF-THE-ARMED-FORCES.PDF

MLM 112 - Attorney Shannon James - Advocate for Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officers Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

Attorney Shannon James is an attorney who focuses her law practice on the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. As one of America's seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps is an elite team of more than 6,000 well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the nation's public health promotion and disease prevention programs within the nation's federal government agencies and programs.

Shannon began her career in law clerking at a civilian law firm where she focused on military law. After graduating from law school, Shannon became an associate and eventually a managing partner of the firm. It was there that she first worked with Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officers and developed a passion for helping this unique community of officers who work in underserved areas in the United States. Shannon is a powerful advocate for her clients as she understands their unique skills and their sacrifices in serving their country.

https://shannonlawyer.com/

MLM 111 - The ends don't always justify the means - the Story of an Airman who got Justice Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

The ends don't always justify the means - the Story of an Airman who got Justice

This is the story of an Airman who got justice. He started his journey at the Air Force Discharge Review Board and then took his case to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records where he got justice. Remember, never ever give up; there is always hope!

MLM 110 - The Department of Defense (DoD) Discharge Appeal Review Board (DARB) Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

The Department of Defense (DoD) Discharge Appeal Review Board (DARB)

DARB affords Service members the opportunity to request an upgrade to the characterization of a discharge or dismissal that was not granted by their Service Discharge Review Board (DRB) and the Board of Corrections of Military/Naval Records (BCM/NR).

** Note that the DARB only applies to discharges or dismissals with a date on or after December 20, 2019.

For a discharge or dismissal dated on or after December 20, 2019, through December 31, 2020, a request for relief must be submitted on or before January 1, 2022, or within 365 calendar days of receipt of the BCM/NR decision, whichever is later. A request filed later than this date is untimely and may be denied by the DARB on that basis.
For a discharge or dismissal date on or after January 1, 2021, a request for relief must be submitted within 365 calendar days of the date of receipt of the BCM/NR decision. A request filed more than 365 calendar days after the date of the respective BCM/NR decision is untimely and may be denied by the DARB on that basis.

Department of Defense (DoD) Discharge Appeal Review Board (DARB) https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil/#resources

Department of Defense (DoD) Discharge Appeal Review Board (DARB) Application Instructions https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil/#application-submission-darb

The current governing instruction for the DARB process is in the Deputy Secretary of Defense “ Memorandum, dated 29 January 2021 ”

https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil/app/assets/DOD_SECTION_523.pdf

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