RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 20 December 2007 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20070009830 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. Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano Director Ms. Judy Blanchard Analyst The following members, a quorum, were present: Mr. Richard T. Dunbar Chairperson Ms. Jeanette McCants Member Mr. Jerome L. Pionk 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 document his service in Iraq. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that he served in Iraq from February 2004 until February 2005. 3. The applicant provides no additional documents in support of his application. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board. This case is being considered using the applicant’s DD Form 214 and documents from other available sources. 2. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows that he enlisted in the Regular Army and entered active duty on 8 February 2001. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 25F (Network Switching Systems Operator/ Maintainer). The highest grade he attained was pay grade E-3. 3. The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows that he was assigned to a unit in Germany. The applicant’s DD Form 214 also shows that on 31 May 2005, he was honorably released from active duty under the provisions of chapter 4, Army Regulation 635-200, by reason of completion of required service. 4. The applicant's DD Form 214 documents overseas service in Item 12f (Foreign Service) as 3 years, 6 months, and 4 days. Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) shows that during his active duty tenure, he earned the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Lapel Button, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Driver and Mechanic Badge with Driver-W Bar. Item 18 (Remarks) contains no entry pertaining to the completion of deployed service, and the applicant authenticated the separation document with his signature in Item 27 (Signature of Member Being Separated) on the date of his release from active duty. 5. During the review of this case, a member of the Board staff requested a review of the applicant’s pay record from the Military Pay Office, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Indianapolis Indiana. The applicant’s pay record confirms that he received imminent danger pay for his service in Tikrit, Iraq from 5 February 2004 to 22 February 2005. 6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 contains the Army's awards policy. It authorizes the Iraq Campaign Medal for service in Iraq from 19 March 2003 to a future date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense or the cessation of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) for members deployed abroad for service in the Global War on Terrorism Operations on or after 11 September, 2001 to a date to be determined. Operations approved for the GWOTEM included Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, and was authorized for service in Iraq. However, personnel were not authorized to receive both the Iraq Campaign Medal and the GWOTEM for the same action, time period, or service. 7. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It states that, for an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit during their continuous period of active service, the statement "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD - YYYYMMDD)" will be entered in item 18 (Remarks). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's contention that his service in Iraq was not properly documented on his DD Form 214 was carefully considered and found to have merit. 2. By regulation, an entry will be made in Item 18 for an active duty Soldier deployed with his unit during the period covered by the separation document. 3. The evidence of record confirms the applicant was deployed to Tikrit, Iraq from 5 February 2004 through 22 February 2005. The applicant’s pay record from DFAS confirms that the applicant was deployed to Iraq and was receiving imminent danger pay during the above period of service. Therefore, Item 18 of his DD Form 214 should be corrected accordingly. BOARD VOTE: __RTD __ __JM____ __JP___ 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. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his DD Form 214 by adding the entry "SERVICE IN IRAQ FROM 20040205-20050222" to Item 18; and providing him a correction to his separation document that includes this change. ____Richard T. Dunbar_____ CHAIRPERSON INDEX CASE ID AR20070009830 SUFFIX RECON YYYYMMDD DATE BOARDED 20071220 TYPE OF DISCHARGE DATE OF DISCHARGE DISCHARGE AUTHORITY AR . . . . . DISCHARGE REASON BOARD DECISION GRANT REVIEW AUTHORITY ISSUES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.