RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           9 March 2004                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003091319

	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. Klaus P. Schumann		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		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 he be awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM).  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was unaware he did not receive the AGCM because of non-judicial punishment he received for not removing a nude picture from the wall in his barracks room.  He further states that a superior officer, a second lieutenant (2LT), asked him to remove the picture, but he forgot to remove it from the wall.  The following week the officer inquired on why the picture was not removed from his wall, and he informed him that he had forgot.  At that time, he immediately removed the picture from his wall.  The applicant further states that at the time, he was assigned to a remote area close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea and had been by himself for almost nine months.  He further indicates that living conditions were difficult and that the support he received from his unit was lacking.  He contends that he was a good soldier during this trying time, and the fact that he served on a lonely mountain in Korea should be taken into consideration when determining his eligibility and qualifications for the AGCM.  

3.  The applicant provides, in support of his application, a self-authored letter, dated 3 March 2003, which provides his explanation of the events surrounding the non-judicial punishment (NJP) he received while in the Army.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of injustice which occurred on 18 November 1966.  The application submitted in this case is dated 17 May 2003.  

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant's military records show that he entered active duty on 20 November 1964.  He was trained and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 31M (Radio Operator), and upon successful completion of his training, he was assigned to Republic of Korea.  On 6 July 1966 he returned to the Continental United States (CONUS) and was honorably separated on 18 November 1966.

4.  The applicant's separation document (DD Form 214) shows, in Item 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons awarded or Authorized), that he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar during his service in the Army.

5.  The applicant's military records contain a record of NJP, dated 6 January 1966.  The offense for which he was punished was disobeying an order from his superior officer by not removing a nude picture from his wall.  The resultant punishment was a forfeiture of ten dollars and a suspended reduction to private/E-2 (PV2).  

6.  The applicant's Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains a copy of special orders number 137, issued by Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Division, dated 17 May 1966, which promoted the applicant to specialist four (SP4) on 17 May 1966.  The MPRJ also contains a congratulatory letter from his commander, dated 23 August 1966, which was issued based on his passing his general educational development (GED) test and receiving high school equivalency.  Finally, there is no AGCM disqualification on file in his MPRJ from any of the active duty unit commanders for whom he served.  

7.  The applicant's Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows, in
Item 38 (Record of Assignments), that his conduct and efficiency was rated as good or excellent throughout his service in the Army.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the AGCM is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service.  This period is 3 years except in those cases when the period for the first award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military service.  Although there is no automatic entitlement to the Good Conduct Medal, disqualification must be justified.  Current practice requires that the commander provide written notice of non-favorable consideration and permits the individual to respond.

9.  Paragraph 4-6(c) of the awards regulation states that while any record of NJP could be in conflict with recognizing the soldier's service as exemplary, such record should not be viewed as automatically disqualifying for the AGCM.  The commander analyzes the record, giving consideration to the nature of the infraction, the circumstances under which it occurred and when.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant received NJP during his service in the Army.  However, it also shows that he was promoted to SP4 three months after the NJP was imposed.  Therefore, it is reasonable to presume that since his unit commander at the time concluded that his record was sufficiently outstanding to warrant promotion, it would also have been sufficiently outstanding to warrant his receiving the AGCM.  

2.  The applicant's records do not contain a specific AGCM disqualification from any of his active duty unit commanders.  Further, current regulatory guidance allows for a subjective analysis and review of the circumstances surrounding incidence of NJP when considering the award of the AGCM.  In this case, the applicant's actions were not so egregious as to clearly disqualify him for award of the AGCM.  Thus, it would be appropriate, as a matter of equity based his overall service, to award the applicant the AGCM at this time and to correct his record to show this award.

BOARD VOTE:

_SLP___  _BE___  _SAC___    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 and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, for his qualifying honorable service from 20 November 1964 through 18 November 1966; and by providing him a corrected separation document that includes this award.

		Samuel A. Crumpler
		  CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091319	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2004/03/09	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.AGCM	107.0056.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.