RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            13 NOVEMBER 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003086735

	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. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		Member	
	Ms. Eloise C. Prendergast		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that an order issued in July 2002 awarding him his fourth award of the Army Good Conduct Medal be expunged from his OMPF (Official Military Personnel File).

2.  The applicant states that his OMPF contains two copies of orders awarding him his fourth Army Good Conduct Medal.  One order was issued in October 1999 and the second was issued in July 2002.

3.  The applicant provides copies of the duplicate award orders in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant entered active duty on 25 August 1987 and has served continuously.  

2.  His records contain copies of orders awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 25 August 1987 to 24 August 1990, 25 August 1990 to 
24 August 1993, and 25 August 1993 to 24 August 1996.

3.  His records also contain two copies of orders awarding him his fourth award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.  Both orders are for the same period, 
25 August 1996 to 24 August 1999.  However, one order was issued on 
20 October 1999 and the other on 17 July 2002.  Both orders were issued by the same agency at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

4.  On 17 July 2002 orders were also issued at Fort Belvoir awarding the applicant his fifth award of the Army Good Conduct Medal (25 August 1999 to 
24 August 2002).

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-104 states that all permanent orders, which announce, amend, or revoke military awards, are to be filed in the performance portion of a soldier’s OMPF.  That regulation also states that once filed such documents become a permanent part of the OMPF and may only be removed by one of several agencies, including this Board.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms that the applicant’s OMPF contain orders which duplicate his award of the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 25 August 1996 to 24 August 1999.  

2.  It is unclear why his fourth award of the Army Good Conduct Medal was announced again July 2002 but it is possible that the issuing agency was unable to verify if the fourth award had been announced when it was issuing orders announcing award of this fifth Army Good Conduct Medal.

3.  While the appropriate avenue to correct the situation would be to revoke the duplicate order, such a revocation might only add to the confusion of multiple orders in the applicant’s OMPF.  As such, the Board concludes, in the interest of justice and equity, that it would be appropriate to expunge the order issued on 
17 July 2002 announcing award of the applicant’s fourth Army Good Conduct Medal, which duplicates the award announced in 1999.

BOARD VOTE:

__AAO __  __REB__  __ECP __  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by expunging the order issued on 17 July 2002 awarding him his fourth Army Good Conduct Medal which duplicates the award announced in 1999.

		___Arthur A. Omartian______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003086735	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20031113	
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.