Charles Hancock v. Melvin Laird, Secretary of Defense

This appeal is from the District Court’s denial of appellant’s petition for a writ of mandamus. Hancock, a member of the United States Army, had served four months of combat duty in Vietnam with Company A of the Second Battalion, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, when, on March 16, 1969, he was granted an emergency thirty-day leave to return to the United States because of a family crisis. Under his leave orders, Hancock was attached, at the end of his leave period, to the Oakland Overseas Replacement Station. The sole purpose of the temporary attachment to this station was the facilitation of Hancock’s return to his permanent overseas unit. Upon expiration of the leave period, and after Hancock had been denied his request for a “compassionate reassignment,” he was ordered to report to Oakland for transportation to his Vietnam unit. While awaiting this overseas transportation, Hancock filed an application for discharge as a conscientious objector under Army Regulation 635-20. The Oakland command refused to receive the application because paragraph 4(a) of the Regulation requires that servicemen must present such applications “to their immediate commanding officers.” The…