IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 8 MAY 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080005936 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that the incident report for a HMMWV (military vehicle) crash be corrected from showing that it was accidently caused, to that it was intentionally caused. The applicant also requests award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states that the inspecting officer reported the incident to be accidental, contrary to the individuals’ sworn statements which reported the incident and the surrounding events leading up to the incident as intentional. 3. The applicant provides the approved recommendation of the ABCMR in a previous case involving the death of a Soldier who was in the HMMWV in question. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 28 July 1995, was awarded the military occupational specialty of M1 Armor Crewman, and was promoted to pay grade E-5. 2. The applicant served in Kuwait from 2 May 2002 to 31 October 2002, he served in Kuwait/Iraq from 6 March 2003 to 5 March 2004, and he again served in Kuwait/Iraq from 1 February 2005 to 1 June 2005. 3. The applicant was honorably discharged on 30 April 2006 for disability with severance pay. He had 10 years, 9 months, and 4 days of active service. 4. The applicant’s records do not contain, nor did the applicant provide, the incident report he wants corrected or any medical records. 5. The previous ABCMR case provided by the applicant pertains to a Soldier who was killed when an Iraqi national apparently deliberately ran his vehicle into the HMMWV in which the Soldier was riding. The ABCMR recommended awarding the Soldier the Purple Heart, but did not recommend changing the incident report to show that the incident which caused the death was intentional. 6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The ABCMR reviews a case with a presumption of regularity, that what the Army did was correct. It is up to the applicant to prove otherwise. 2. The ABCMR is not an investigative agency. In order for the applicant to qualify for the Purple Heart he would have to show that he was wounded as a result of hostile action and that he was treated for the wound. The applicant has not submitted anything to show that he was in a HMMWV crash or that he was injured as a result of a HMMWV crash. 3. Without medical records and the incident report in question, there is insufficient documentation in which to grant the applicant’s request to award him the Purple Heart or to change the incident report. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___X____ ___X____ ___X____ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _ __X_____ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080005936 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080005936 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1