RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 8 March 2007 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060010598 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. Gerard W. Schwartz Acting Director Ms. Lisa O. Guion Analyst The following members, a quorum, were present: Mr. William F. Crain Chairperson Mr. Edward E. Montgomery Member Ms. Rea M. Nuppenau Member 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 his separation document (DD Form 214) be corrected to show that he completed a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Course at Camp Red Devil, Colorado. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that while he was assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado, he completed an NCO leadership training course at the NCO Academy; however, he no longer has a copy of the certificate of completion, which was lost in a small house fire in 1983. He also indicates that he is now a member of the United States Army Reserve (USAR), and was promoted to sergeant (SGT) on 29 January 2003, one month prior to deploying to Iraq. He states that he is long overdue for promotion to staff sergeant, but without evidence that he completed the NCO course in question, he will not be able to be promoted until he completed the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC). He also states that he does not know why his separation document fails to show his completion of this course, but he was told that it should be documented somewhere in his military record. He asks that his separation document be corrected to show he completed the NCO Course at Camp Red Devil. 3. The applicant provides a self authored statement in support of his application. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice which occurred on 2 February 1979. The application submitted in this case is dated 17 April 2006. 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 limitations 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 served on active duty in the Regular Army for 3 years, 8 months, and 28 days, from 5 May 1975 through 2 February 1979. It also shows that during this period of active duty service, he held and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Infantryman), and that he attained the rank of specialist four on 9 May 1974, and this is the highest rank he attained while serving on active duty during this period. 4. The applicant's Personnel Qualification Record (DA Form 2-1) confirms, in item 17 (Civilian Education and Military Schools), that the applicant completed a 4-week Primary NCO Course (PNCOC) at Fort Carson in 1977. His Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains a diploma given in recognition of the applicant’s successful completion of the PNCOC conducted by the United States Army NCO Academy at Camp Red Devil, Fort Carson, Colorado on 27 May 1977. 5. Item 27 (Remarks) of the DD Form 214 issued to the applicant on 2 February 1979, the date of his separation from this period of active duty service, does not contain an entry to show that he completed any service schools. 6. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents that must be prepared for Soldiers on retirement, discharge, release from active duty service, or control of the active Army. Section II of the version of the regulation in effect at the time of the applicant's separation from active duty contained preparation instructions for the DD Form 214. The instructions for Item 27 stated that entries would include in-service courses successfully completed during the period of service covered by the DD Form 214 issued. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's contention that his record be corrected to show he completed the PNCOC at Camp Red Devil, Fort Carson, Colorado, has been carefully considered and found to have merit. 2. The governing regulation in effect at the time of the applicant's separation from active duty contained instructions for Item 27 of the DD Form 214 that indicated that an entry would be made for in-service courses completed during the period covered by the DD Form 214. 3. The evidence of record in this case confirms the applicant completed a 4-week PNCOC at Camp Red Devil, Fort Carson, Colorado on 27 May 1977, as evidenced by an entry on his DA Form 2-1 and a course diploma on file in his MPRJ. Therefore, it would also be appropriate to add this course to Item 27 of his 2 February 1979 separation document. A copy of the course diploma will also be included with this decisional document for the applicant's use. BOARD VOTE: ___WFC __EEM__ __RMN__ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL 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 amending Item 27 of his 2 February 1979 DD Form 214 by adding the entry “Primary Noncommissioned Officer Course, 4 weeks, Fort Carson, Colorado, 1977" and by issuing him a correction to his separation document to reflect this change. _____William F. Crain____ CHAIRPERSON INDEX CASE ID AR20060010598 SUFFIX RECON NO DATE BOARDED 2007/03/018 TYPE OF DISCHARGE HD DATE OF DISCHARGE 1979/02/02 DISCHARGE AUTHORITY AR 635-200 DISCHARGE REASON Completion of Required Service BOARD DECISION GRANT REVIEW AUTHORITY Mr. Schwartz ISSUES 1. 100.0700 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.