MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           9 November 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999026772

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Member	
	Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That the Combat Medical Badge be added to his DD Form 214.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was a combat medic in Vietnam for 14 months.  He provides no supporting evidence.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He enlisted in the Regular Army on 21 October 1966.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 91A (Medical Corpsman).

The applicant arrived in Vietnam on 30 January 1968 and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry as a medical specialist.

On 4 March 1968, the applicant was reassigned to Thailand, where he served with the 523d Medical Detachment and the 31st Field Hospital as an ambulance orderly and a medical specialist.

On 21 March 1969, the applicant departed Thailand.  He was released from active duty on 21 October 1969.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Medical Badge could be awarded to Medical Department personnel assigned or attached to infantry units of brigade or smaller size who satisfactorily perform medical duties while the unit is engaged in actual ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire.  The award was established to recognize medical aidmen who shared the same hazards and hardships of ground combat on a daily basis with the infantry soldier.  So stringent was this requirement during the Vietnam era that recommending officials were required to document the place (in six-digit coordinates), time, type and intensity of fire to which the proposed recipient was exposed.  This fact naturally precludes the awarding of the badge to those medical personnel who accompany infantry units into a potential engagement area but do not come under enemy fire.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant served for 1 month as a medical specialist with the headquarters company of an infantry battalion in Vietnam before he was reassigned to Thailand.  While it is possible he shared the hazards and hardships of the infantry troops by being present and under fire with them while they were engaged in actual ground combat, it is more likely he served in the battalion aid station.  He provides no evidence to show he served in the field under fire.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__rvo___  __cla___  __kyf___  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999026772	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19991109	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0113	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.