PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            30 November 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000036614

	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	
	Mr. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Member	
	Mr. Thomas Lanyi		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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show missing awards, to show his correct military occupational specialty (MOS), to show his military education and to show that he contributed to the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program (VEAP). 

3.  The applicant states that his MOS and awards and decorations are all wrong. He also states that he served in Operation Desert Storm and received award of the Purple Heart.  The applicant also states that he contributed to the “G.I. Bill.”

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he entered active duty on 8 March 1989.  He completed training as a multi-channel telecommunications system operator in MOS 31M.  The applicant was retired by reason of temporary physical disability on 17 December 1991 and placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL).  He was removed from the TDRL and discharged on 11 June 1993 with entitlement to severance pay.

5.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 states in item 18 (Remarks) that he was separated from the Service on temporary records and soldier’s affidavit and that a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) will be issued to provide missing information.  There is no evidence that Departmental officials corrected the applicant’s DD Form 214.

6.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows in item 11 (Primary Specialty) that he served in MOS 76Y10 (Unit Supply Specialist) for two years.  

7.  The applicant’s enlistment contract shows that he enlisted for training in MOS 31M (Multichannel Communications Systems Operator).  His DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record-Part II) shows in item 35 (Record of Assignments) that he completed advanced individual training on 15 May 1989 and was awarded MOS 31M at that time.  His DA Form 2-1 also shows that he served in MOS 31M while assigned to the 143d Signal Battalion in Germany.  The applicant’s records contain 378th Personnel Service Company Orders which awarded the applicant MOS 31D (Mobile Subscriber Equipment Operator) as his primary MOS and assigned MOS 31M as his secondary MOS based on a Headquarters Department of the Army directed reclassification.  There is no indication in the applicant’s records that he served as a unit supply specialist.

8.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show service in Southwest Asia and his DA Form 2-1 does not contain an entry in item 5 (Oversea Service) which shows service in Southwest Asia.  

9.  The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) compiled the Desert Shield/Storm Data Base.  The primary Desert Shield/Storm file contains one record for each active duty member who participated in-theater between 2 August 1990 and 31 July 1991.  This data base shows the applicant’s service in Southwest Asia began effective 1 January 1991, but does not show the date of his medical evacuation from Southwest Asia.

10.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart or awards for service in Southwest Asia.

11.  There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  His DA Form 2-1 does not show the Purple Heart in item 9 (Awards, Decorations and Campaigns).

12.  The applicant’s Physical Evaluation Board records contain a DA Form 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status) which states the applicant was admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 14 March 1991 for injuries resulting from an accident which occurred in Iraq on 3 March 1991.  Item 30 (Details of Accident-Remarks) of this record states:  “While on an authorized terrain walk with supported brigade individual stepped on an anti personnel mine while walking into Iraqi Bunker.”

13.  Item 14 (Military Education) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 shows that he completed the unit supply specialist course (4 weeks) in 1989, but his training in MOS 31M is not shown on his DD Form 214 in item 14.

14.  Item 15a (Member Contributed to Post-Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 shows the entry “NO” which indicates that he did not contribute to VEAP. 

15.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) established the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  The regulation provides, in pertinent part, that the primary MOS and all additional MOS served in for a period of one year or more, during soldier’s continuous active military service will be entered in item 11 (Primary Specialty).

16.  Army Regulation 635-5 states, in pertinent part, that foreign service performed during the period covered by the DD Form 214 will be entered in item 12f.  The regulation also states that the amount of foreign service will be taken from the soldier’s Enlisted Qualification Record or, if necessary, verified from the soldier’s Military Personnel Records Jacket.  However, for service in Southwest Asia, Department of the Army issued guidance that service in a temporary duty status in that theater would not be reported as foreign service unless for a period longer than 6 months and that Southwest Asia service would be reported in item 18 (Remarks) of the DD Form 214.

17.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

18.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that service in the Persian Gulf War is to be recognized by award of the Southwest Asia Service Medal to Army members who participated in Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm in the designated area on or after 2 August 1990.  A bronze service star is authorized for the Defense of Saudi Arabia (2 August 1990 to 16 January 1991) and the Liberation and Defense of Kuwait (17 January to 11 April 1991), and the Cease-fire Campaign (12 April 1991 to 30 October 1995).

19.  The Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was approved on 3 January 1992 and is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participated in the Persian Gulf War between 17 January 1991 and 28 February 1991.

20.  The Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Government of Kuwait was approved on 9 November 1995 and is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participated in the Persian Gulf War between 2 August 1990 and 31 August 1993.

21.  Army Regulation 635-5 establishes the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the DD Form 214.  In pertinent part it states that item 14 (military education) will list formal in service training courses successfully completed during the period of service covered by title, length in weeks, and month and year completed.  This information is to assist the soldier after separation in job placement and counseling; therefore, training courses for combat skills are not listed.

22.  The Veterans’ Education Assistance Program (VEAP) was an educational incentive program offered to individuals who enlisted between 1 January 1977 and 30 June 1985.  The program was designed for the post-Vietnam era soldier as a means of establishing a fund to support their educational objectives following their military service.  Participation in the VEAP was a voluntary option and was replaced, in July 1985, by the Montgomery GI Bill and the Army College Fund Program.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was awarded and served in MOS 31M from 15 May 1989 to 15 June 1990, a period of one year and one month.  The applicant served in MOS 31D from 16 June 1990 until his separation on 17 December 1991, a period of one year and six months.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of item 11 of his DD Form 214 by deleting the entry pertaining to two years of service in MOS 76Y (Unit Supply Specialist) and replacing it with the entry:  “31D10 MOBILE SUBSCRIBER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR/ 1 YEAR AND 6 MONTHS//31M10 MULTICHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS OPERATOR/ 1 YEAR AND 1 MONTH//.”

2.  The DMDC data base shows the applicant started his service in Southwest Asia on 1 January 1991.  The specific date of his departure cannot be determined from existing records, but it had to occur prior to his admission to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 14 March 1991.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of item 18 (Remarks) to show the entry:  “SWA SERVICE:  910101 TO APPROXIMATELY 910313.”

3.  There are no orders in the applicant’s records awarding him the Purple Heart and there is no evidence that the applicant was wounded as the result of hostile action.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant stepped on a land mine in Iraq on 3 March 1991 while “on an authorized terrain walk” and that these injuries were classified as accidental.  In view of the evidence which shows the applicant’s injuries were classified as accidental, he is not eligible for award of the Purple Heart for these injuries.

4.  Based on the applicant’s service in Southwest Asia, he is entitled to award of the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Government of Kuwait and to correction of his records to show these awards.

5.  The applicant completed the Multichannel Communications Systems Operator Course (13 weeks) on 15 May 1989.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of item 14 (Military Education) to show this military education.

6.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that item 15a of his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show he contributed to the “G.I. Bill.”  However, item 15a applies only to VEAP which was offered to soldiers who enlisted between 1 January 1977 and 30 June 1985.  Therefore, the applicant did not contribute to VEAP and item 15a is correct as currently constituted.

7. In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:
	a.   by deleting from item 11 (Primary Specialty) of the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned the current entry pertaining to MOS 76Y10;

	b.  by correcting item 11 of his DD Form 214 to show the entry:  “31D10 MOBILE SUBSCRIBER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR/ 1 YEAR AND 6 MONTHS//31M10 MULTICHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS OPERATOR/ 1 YEAR AND 1 MONTH//”;

	c.  by adding to the existing entry in item 14 (Military Education) of his DD Form 214 the entry: “MULTICHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS OPERATOR COURSE 13 WEEKS (1989)”;

	d.  by showing in item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 that he was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Government of Kuwait 

	e.  by adding the entry “SWA SERVICE:  910101 TO APPROXIMATELY 910313” in item 18 (Remarks) of his DD Form 214.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__JNS___  __CLA__  __TL____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Mr. John N. Slone__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000036614	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001130	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.0000.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.