Where to Send the Form
Mail the completed DD Form 293 to the appropriate address:
ARMY: Army Review Boards Agency, Support Division, St. Louis, ATTN: SFMR-RBR-SL, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200
NAVY & MARINE CORPS: Naval Council of Personnel Boards, 720 Kennon Street, S.E., Rm. 309 (NDRB), Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5023
AIR FORCE: SAF/MIBR, 550-C Street West, Suite 40, Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4742
COAST GUARD: Commandant (G-WPM), 2100 Second Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20593-0001
Personal Appearances Before the Board
You may request a personal appearance before the Board by checking the appropriate box on DD Form 293, item 4. If you request a hearing, the Board will notify you as to time, date, and place (usually Washington D.C., although there are times when the Board travels to Regional Areas to conduct hearings). Expenses incurred are completely your responsibility. The Government will not reimburse you for expenses (travel, lodging, counsel, witness fees, etc.) If you, after being notified by letter of the time and place of the hearing, fail to appear at the appointed time, either in person or by representative, without having made a prior, timely request for a continuation, postponement, or withdrawal, you will be deemed to have waived the right to a hearing, and the DRB shall complete its review of the discharge. The Board will not grant another hearing unless the you can demonstrate that the failure to appear or respond was due to circumstances beyond your control.
Your hearing before the Board is an administrative hearing, not an adversarial proceeding or a trial. The purpose is to determine whether your period of service was properly characterized. Only one of two things can happen: (1) your request can be granted or (2) your discharge can remain the same. It can not be made worse. There is what is termed the presumption of regularity in government affairs. This means when the government, or in this case the military, takes an action, it is deemed to be a good and proper action. The burden of proof lies with you to convince the members of the Board that your discharge should be something other than what it is, and in doing so, overcome the presumption of regularity.
Before your Board Appearance, you should review the examiner’s brief prior to your hearing. This brief is a summary of the available military records in your case. It contains the essential facts in your case and is put into a format that is easily read by the board members.
One Board member is designated as the action officer for your case. The action officer’s job is to go through your entire record and compare it to the brief, making sure the brief is absolutely correct. In doing so, this individual becomes very familiar with your case. If any of the Board members have questions concerning the documentation in your record, either during the hearing or afterwards during the board deliberations, these questions will be addressed to the action officer who will get the document in question for the decision of the Board.
The Board is usually composed of five active duty officers and senior enlisted personnel. They will usually be dressed in civilian clothing, which is purely for your benefit; to help put you at ease and to create a more relaxed atmosphere. They each cast one vote and the majority rules.
