MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            27 June 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000037761

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		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 he be awarded and authorized to wear the Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Badge.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he met all of the requirements for award of the Senior EOD Badge and should have been awarded it before the expiration of his term of service (ETS).  He also states that he was recommended for award of the badge and believes that the request was lost.  

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

He initially enlisted on 29 November 1976 for a period of 3 years and training as a military policeman (MP).  He successfully completed his training and served as an MP until he was accepted for training and reclassification as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.  He was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) of 55D and the EOD Badge – Basic on 13 April 1979.

He was promoted to the pay grade of E-5 on 9 November 1979 and reenlisted on 3 December 1979 for a period of 3 years and a selective reenlistment bonus.

His records show that he was assigned to an EOD Detachment at Fort McClellan, Alabama from 27 March 1979 to 22 January 1980 and to an EOD Detachment in Vancouver, Washington from 31 January 1980 to 2 December 1982. 

On 6 December 1982 he was honorably discharged due to his ETS.  He was retained in service for 5 days for the convenience of the government and had served 6 years and 8 days of total active service.

A review of his records failed to reveal any indication that the applicant’s commander recommended him for award of the Senior EOD Badge.

The applicant indicates in his application that he is currently serving in the USAR in the rank of major.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 serves as the authority for award of the Senior EOD Badge.  It states, in pertinent part, that the Senior EOD Badge may be awarded to any commissioned officer or enlisted soldier who has been awarded the EOD Badge, who has served 18 months cumulative service in a table of organization (TOE) or table of distribution (TD) position following award of the basic EOD Badge, has been recommended for the award by the immediate commander, and has current EOD qualifications at the time of the recommendation for the award.

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 applicant’s contention that he should have been awarded the Senior EOD Badge is not supported by the evidence submitted with his application or the evidence of record.  There is no automatic entitlement to award of that badge and there is no indication in the available records to support his contention that the commander did in fact recommend him for award of the badge.

3.  The Board also notes that the applicant waited 8 years to surface the issue of a potentially lost recommendation, an issue which could have been resolved/verified more easily had he surfaced the issue in a timely manner. 

4.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be presumed that the applicant was never recommended for award of the Senior EOD Badge, one of the primary prerequisites required by the applicable regulation.

5.  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

___wtm__  __mdm__  ___clg __  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000027761	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/06/27	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  173	107.0127/SR EOD BAD	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.