§1557 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

Corrections Boards must finish a set share of the applications they get within 10 months of receipt. For applications received in fiscal years 2001–2002, 50% must be finished within 10 months; for 2003–2004, 60%; for 2005–2007, 70%; for 2008–2010, 80%; and for any fiscal year after 2010, 90%. That excludes cases that are handled as simple administrative fixes. Also, every application (except those simple fixes) must get a final decision within 18 months of when it was received. The Secretary of the military department can remove a single case from those time targets if it needs more review, but the Secretary cannot give that power to someone else. Missing the time targets does not help an applicant in later review. If a department’s board fails to meet the targets for a fiscal year, the Secretary must report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees by June 1 after that year, saying why the targets were missed, what fixes were started, and how many waivers were given. “Corrections Board” means the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, the Board for Correction of Naval Records, and the Department of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records.

Title 10, §1557

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Of the applications received by a Corrections Board during a period specified in the following table, the percentage on which final action by the Corrections Board must be completed within 10 months of receipt (other than for those applications considered suitable for administrative correction) is as follows: For applications received during— The percentage on which final Correction Board action must be completed within 10 months ofreceipt is— the period of fiscal years 2001 and 200250 the period of fiscal years 2003 and 200460 the period of fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 200770 the period of fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 201080 the period of any fiscal year after fiscal year 201090.

(b)Final action by a Corrections Board on all applications received by the Corrections Board (other than those applications considered suitable for administrative correction) shall be completed within 18 months of receipt.

(c)The Secretary of the military department concerned may exclude an individual application from the timeliness standards prescribed in subsections (a) and (b) if the Secretary determines that the application warrants a longer period of consideration. The authority of the Secretary of a military department under this subsection may not be delegated.

(d)Failure of a Corrections Board to meet the applicable timeliness standard for any period of time under subsection (a) or (b) does not confer any presumption or advantage with respect to consideration by the board of any application.

(e)The Secretary of the military department concerned shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report not later than June 1 following any fiscal year during which the Corrections Board of that Secretary’s military department was unable to meet the applicable timeliness standard for that fiscal year under subsections (a) and (b). The report shall specify the reasons why the standard could not be met and the corrective actions initiated to ensure compliance in the future. The report shall also specify the number of waivers granted under subsection (c) during that fiscal year.

(f)In this section, the term “Corrections Board” means—

(1)with respect to the Department of the Army, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records;

(2)with respect to the Department of the Navy, the Board for Correction of Naval Records; and

(3)with respect to the Department of the Air Force, the Department of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 118–31 inserted “the Department of” after “Air Force,”. 2004—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–375 substituted “Final” for “Effective October 1, 2002, final”. 1999—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106–65 substituted “and the Committee on Armed Services” for “and the Committee on National Security”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Termination of Reporting RequirementsFor termination, effective Dec. 31, 2021, of provisions in subsec. (e) of this section requiring submittal of report to Congress, see section 1061 of Pub. L. 114–328, set out as a note under section 111 of this title.

§1557 Timeliness Standards for Disposition of Applications Before Corrections Boards