PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           13 September 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001060668

	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. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. John E. Denning		Member	
	Mr. Terry L. Placek		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 he be awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal (ARGCM). 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he honorably served on active duty in the Regular Army for 2 years, 11 months, 22 days, from 10 June 1974 to 1 June 1977, and never received the AGCM.  He claims he never violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) while on active duty and that he subsequently served in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) for 27 years.  He indicates that he has always felt deserving of the award and felt it necessary to make the effort to apply for it at this time. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he entered active duty in the Regular Army (RA) on 10 June 1974, and that he continuously served in that status for 2 years, 11 months, 22 days until 1 June 1977, when he was honorably separated in the rank and pay grade of specialist four/E-4 (SP4/E-4).

5.  The DD Form 214 issued to the applicant on the date of his separation shows that he was honorably released from active duty and that the only award he received during his active duty tenure was the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM).  There is no reference made to the AGCM in this separation document nor is there any indication in his record that he was disqualified from receiving the award by any of his unit commanders.  

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Chapter 
4 prescribes the policy for award of the AGCM.  Paragraph 4-4, gives the specific criteria for approval of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that it is the immediate commander’s decision to award the AGCM based on his personal knowledge of the individual and on the individual’s official records.  It further states that the lack of official disqualifying comment by previous commanders allows that period of service to qualify for use in awarding the AGCM.  

7.  Paragraph 4-5 of the regulation defines periods of service which qualify for award of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950, a period of more than one year is a qualifying period for award of the AGCM.  The available evidence contains no indication that the applicant had committed any infractions that would have disqualified him from receiving the AGCM or that he was ever disqualified for the award by any of his immediate commanders.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  By regulation, a period of more than one year of active military service terminated after on or after 27 June 1950, is a qualifying period for the first award of the AGCM.  The evidence of record confirms that the applicant completed a total of 2 years, 11 months, and 22 days of honorable active military service at the time of his separation on 1 June 1977, which more than satisfies this regulatory qualifying period of service criteria.

2.  The applicant’s record is also void of any disqualifying comment from any of his unit commanders and of any derogatory information or a disciplinary history that would prohibit him from receiving the AGCM.  Therefore, the Board concludes that it would be appropriate to provide him the first award of the AGCM for his honorable active duty service from 10 June 1974 and 1 June 1977.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the AGCM based on his having completed more that one year of honorable active military service during his first enlistment, from 10 June 1974 to 1 June 1977, and by providing him a corrected separation document that reflects this award. 

BOARD VOTE:  

_ FNE __   __JED__  __TLP__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		     __Fred N. Eichorn   __
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001060668	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2001/09/13	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1977/06/01	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200 	
DISCHARGE REASON	ets	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.