RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2011-01042 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: His DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty be corrected as follows: 1. Block 24 (Character of Service) which reflects “Uncharacterized” be changed to reflect “Honorable.” 2. Block 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) which reflects “Entry Level Performance and Conduct” be changed to reflect “Failed National Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Test.” 3. He receive a DD Form 214, with Block 21 “signed,” rather than the statement “Member not Available to Sign.” _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: The statement on his DD Form 214 “Entry Level Performance and Conduct” is unfair as it implies that his performance as well as his conduct were questionable, and would lead one to believe negative performance and conduct was the reason for his discharge. He has been turned down for many jobs after being questioned about his Air Force service and showing his DD Form 214. He was told that he would receive an honorable discharge. He successfully completed Basic Military Training (BMT) and the basic course for entry into the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) field. The requirement to continue in this career field required passing the National Registry Emergency Medical Technician test. He completed 6 months and 10 days of honorable military service and his conduct during BMT and medical school were never in question. The statement on his DD Form 214 “Member Not Available to Sign” is not a true statement. He was available to sign his DD Form 214. In support of his request, the applicant provides a personal statement. The applicant's complete submission, with attachment, is at Exhibit A. _________________________________________________________________ STATEMENT OF FACTS: On 28 Dec 09, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force for a period of six years, as an Aerospace Medical Service Helper. On 25 Jun 10, the applicant was notified by his squadron commander that he was recommending his discharge from the Air Force for entry level performance or conduct for failure to make satisfactory progress in a required training program. The reason for the proposed action was the applicant failed the National Registry Emergency Medical Technician Apprentice (Phase I) course and was disenrolled from the Aerospace Medical Services Apprentice course on 17 Jun 10. Prior to disenrollment he was washed back three times, received 30 hours of additional instruction and counseling, and attended classes at the Wing Learning and Development Center. On 21 Jun 10, the applicant acknowledged receipt of the notification of discharge and waived his right to consult legal counsel and submit statements in his own behalf. On 30 Jun 10, the base legal office found the case legally sufficient to support the separation, and on 6 Jul 10, the discharge authority directed an entry-level separation. On 7 Jul 10, the applicant was discharged by reason of entry level performance and conduct, and issued an RE code of 2C. He served on active duty for a period of 6 months and 10 days. _________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSOS recommends denial. DPSOS states based on documentation on file in the master personnel records, the discharge to include the service characterization was appropriately administered and within the discretion of the discharge authority. The applicant did not provide any evidence of an error or injustice that occurred in the processing of his discharge warranting a change to his character of service, separation code, or narrative reason for separation. Airmen are given entry-level separation/uncharacterized service characterization when separation is initiated in the first 180 days of continuous active service. The Department of Defense (DoD) determined if a member served less than 180 days continuous active service, it would be unfair to the member and the service to characterize their limited service. Therefore, his uncharacterized service is correct and in accordance with DoD and Air Force instructions. IAW AFI 36-3208, Paragraph 1.19.1, airman are in entry level status during the first 180 days of continuous active military service or the first 180 days of continuous active military service after a break of more than 92 days of active service. Entry level separations are determined when the commander initiates the separation action. The applicant’s commander initiated separation action on 25 Jun 10, at that time he had served on active duty for 179 days. The complete DPSOS evaluation is at Exhibit C. AFPC/DPSOY recommends denial of the applicant’s request for a corrected DD Form 214. DPSOY states that due to the electronic format of the DD Form 214 Worksheet (WS), there is not an option to leave this area blank for a customer’s signature. The electronic format of the DD Form 214 is based on HQ AFPC assisting Active Duty retirees/separatees, to accomplish DD Form 214’s for customers out in the field, rather than the local MPF. There are few exceptions that AFPC does not accomplish the form, Technical Schools is one of the few. The electronic format of the form is not tailored for the exceptions. The complete DPSOY evaluation is at Exhibit D. _________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: On 17 Jun 11, copies of the Air Force evaluation were forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 30 days. To date, a response has not been received (Exhibit E). _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2. The application was timely filed. 3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. The applicant’s entry-level separation appears to be in compliance with the governing instruction and we find no evidence that his separation from the Air Force was inappropriate. Airmen are given an uncharacterized entry-level separation when separation is initiated in the first 180 days of continuous active service. The Department of Defense (DoD) determined if a member served less than 180 days of continuous active service, it would be unfair to the member and the service to characterize their limited service. An uncharacterized entry-level separation should not be viewed as negative and should not be confused with other types of separations. Therefore, we find no error or injustice regarding this matter and find the applicant’s uncharacterized entry-level separation is appropriate. Additionally, the applicant states that he was available to sign his DD Form 214. We note the electronic format of the DD Form 214 is now being used, and is not tailored for exceptions. Accordingly, his requests for a change to his character of service and a DD Form 214 that includes his signature are not favorably considered. 4. Notwithstanding the above, we do find that some relief is warranted in this case. We find the narrative reason for his entry-level separation; i.e., entry-level performance or conduct, to be overly harsh. In our deliberations of this case, it appeared to us that the word “conduct” could be misconstrued to infer that his entry level separation was also due to misconduct. While the applicant failed the National Registry Emergency Medical Technician exam four times and had problems progressing in the required technical training course, we have seen no evidence of misconduct. Therefore, in order to correct an injustice of improperly labeling the applicant, his narrative reason for separation should be corrected to accurately reflect the circumstances of his separation by deleting the words “and conduct” from his narrative reason for separation. In view of the foregoing, we recommend his records be corrected to the extent indicated below. _________________________________________________________________ THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to APPLICANT, be corrected by deleting the words “and conduct” from Block 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) on his DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, issued on 7 July 2010. _________________________________________________________________ The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2011-01042 in Executive Session on 2 Aug 11, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: , Panel Chair , Member , Member All members voted to correct the records, as recommended. The following documentary evidence pertaining to Docket Number BC-2011-01042 was considered: Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 19 Feb 11, w/atchs. Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPSOS, dated 23 May 11. Exhibit D. Letter, AFPC/DPSOY, dated 3 Jun 11. Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 17 Jun 11. Panel Chair