PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           30 January 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000047877

	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	
	Mrs. Joyce A. Hall		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas E. O’Shaughnessy, Jr.		Member	
	Ms. Brenda F. Hirschi		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 that he be awarded the Combat Medical Badge
(CMB).

3.  The applicant states in effect, that when he entered active duty there was a shortage of ambulance drivers and medics.  He began taking medical training and became a medic.  While serving in Panama he escorted convoys; served on the firing range, in hospital wards and in the emergency room.  In February 1966, he took an intensive seminar to complete the requirements to become a medic, and applied to have his MOS changed.  He was sent to Vietnam in December 1966.  Only medics that went into the field had their identification cards marked on the back with the word Medic as was his.  In Vietnam he served escorting convoys, giving medical assistance to towns and villages where only helicopters could reach; aiding Vietnamese civilians, South Vietnamese army forces and 
U.S. troops until he left the country.  He never received any awards for his medical service nor was it documented in his service record.  He submits copies of various documents in support of his application.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 29 July 1964, the applicant enlisted in the Army for 3 years.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty MOS 05B20 (Radio Operator).

5.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows that he 
was stationed in Panama from August 1964 to June 1966 as a Radio Operator. The DA Form 20 also shows that he served in the Republic of Vietnam assigned to Company B, 9th Medical Battalion, 9th Infantry Division from December 1966 to July 1967 as a Radio Operator.  His military record shows his conduct and efficiency ratings throughout his period of service as "excellent". 

6.  On 31 July 1967, the applicant was released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.  He completed 3 years, 5 months and 23 days of creditable active service.  His Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge (DD Form 214) shows that he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Sharpshooter Badge M-14).  It does not show the awards of the Combat Medical Badge or the Army Good Conduct Medal. 

7. 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.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, for the award of the Good Conduct Medal for each 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal Military service completed on or after 27 August 1940 and, for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year.  At the time, a soldier’s conduct and efficiency rating must have been rated as “excellent” for the entire period of qualifying service.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he is entitled to the CMB.  However, there is no evidence in his record to support his allegations that he attended medical training or that he held the required MOS.  Although he was attached to an infantry unit there is no evidence of record that shows his unit actually engaged in ground combat. 

2.  The CMB award was established to recognize medical aidmen who share the same hazards and hardships of ground combat on a daily basis with the infantry soldier.  Therefore the applicant did not meet the criteria for the award of the CMB.

3.  The records available to the Board indicated that the applicant met the regulatory requirements and was eligible to receive the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period of 29 July 1964 to 31 July 1967.  

4.  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 by awarding the applicant the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 29 July 1964 to 31 July 1967.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__aao___  __teo___  __bfh___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Arthur A. Omartian
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000047877	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010130	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0113	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.