PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            22 June 2000      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999029070

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

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Roger Able		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that his records be corrected to reflect award of the Parachutist Badge and the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge.  He also asks that the entries “Parachutist Badge with Combat Distinguishing Device” and “1 Bronze Service Star (BSS)” be deleted from his 1999 DD Form 214.  He states that the American and German parachutist badges were omitted from his separation document and the other two entries are erroneous. 

3.  Records associated with the applicant’s active duty service between 1995 and 1999 were not available to the Board.  Information contained herein was reconstructed entirely from documents provided by the applicant.

4.  The applicant entered active duty on 8 September 1995 and completed airborne training on 17 May 1996.  He provides a copy of his course completion certificate.

5.  A March 1997 certificate, provided by the applicant, indicates that he was awarded a certificate for successfully participating in a parachute jump at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 15 March 1997.  The certificate is in German.  The certificate contains the term “fallschirmsprungdienst.”  

6.  On 28 April 1999 the applicant was released from active duty in the grade of O-2.  He was assigned to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Charlotte, North Carolina at the time of his separation and there is no indication he served overseas.  

7.  His separation report confirms completion of airborne training and the additional skill identifier of “5P” reflected in block 11 (primary specialty) indicates that he was airborne qualified.  Block 13 (decorations) does not reflect entitlement to the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge.  It does, however, confirm award of the Parachutist Badge although it also authorizes a “combat distinguishing device” and “bronze service star” which the applicant states he is not entitled to.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that a bronze service star is authorized to be worn on the Parachutist Badge to denote a soldier’s participation in a combat parachute jump.  A soldier’s combat parachute jump credit is tied directly to the combat assault credit decision for the unit to which the soldier is attached or assigned at the time of the assault.  In addition to signifying participation in a combat parachute jump bronze service stars are also worn on campaign and service ribbons to denote participation in designated campaign periods.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also states that Army members may accept foreign qualification and special skill badges if awarded in recognition of meeting the criteria, as established by the foreign government concerned, for the specific award.  Only those badges, which are awarded in recognition of military activities and by the military department of the host country, are authorized for acceptance and permanent wear.  Badges that do not meet these criteria may be authorized for acceptance but not for wear, and will not be entered in the official military records of the recipient.  Commanders serving in the rank of brigadier general or higher and colonel level commanders who exercise general court-martial authority are delegated authority to approve the acceptance, retention and permanent wear of foreign badges.  Soldiers who are not airborne qualified by the U.S. Army are not permitted to attend foreign military airborne courses or participate in foreign airborne operations or be awarded foreign parachute badges.  Additionally, officers who do not possess the additional skill identifier “5P” or “5S” are prohibited from participating in foreign airborne training.  Soldiers not currently assigned to an airborne position and unit are also prohibited from attending foreign airborne training courses, participating in foreign airborne operations, or wearing of foreign parachute badges.  Officials from the Awards Branch at the Total Army Personnel Command indicated that the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge is known as the “fallschirmspringerabziechen” when written in German.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms the applicant successfully completed airborne training and was airborne qualified at the time of his release from active duty in 1999.  As such he is entitled to have the Parachutist Badge reflected on his separation document.

2.  As the applicant notes the Parachutist Badge with Combat Distinguishing Device” and “1 Bronze Service Star (BSS)” are erroneous entries recorded in block 13 on his DD Form 214.  The applicant had no overseas service and there is no indication he ever participated in any “combat” operations which would have served as a basis for either entry.

3.  There is insufficient evidence on which to confirm entitlement to the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge.  While the applicant may have been airborne qualified, the certificate he provides in support of his request does not reflect the correct title for the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge.  The absence of records also makes it impossible to determine if the applicant was assigned to an airborne position and unit at the time he received the certificate.  The applicant has not presented any evidence which confirms that he was authorized by an appropriate authority to accept, retain or wear the foreign badge.

4.  Additionally, the Board notes that the regulation governing the acceptance and permanent award of the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge speaks of “attending foreign airborne training courses” or “participating in foreign airborne operations.”  The certificate submitted by the applicant appears to have been presented at Fort Bragg, North Carolina thereby supporting a conclusion that the applicant did not complete a foreign airborne training course or participate in a foreign airborne operation, but may have merely jumped with German soldiers at Fort Bragg.  In the absence of more conclusive evidence the Board is reluctant to grant the applicant’s request to correct his records to reflect award of the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge.

5.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:

a.  by deleting the entries “Parachutist Badge with Combat Distinguishing Device” and “1 Bronze Service Star (BSS)” from block 13 of the applicant’s 1999 DD Form 214, and

b.  by showing that he was awarded the Parachutist Badge.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

____lls_  ___aao__  ___ra___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999029070	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000622	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	Grant	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.