IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	18 August 2009    

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090005157 


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 his first period of service in Iraq be entered on his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) in item 18 (Remarks).

2.  The applicant states that his awards and decorations will verify his first period of service in Iraq.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214, a DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), a local cavalry certificate, and a certificate of training.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 7 July 2005 and was awarded the military occupational specialty of cavalry scout.

2.  He was given a general discharge on 10 February 2009 due to misconduct, drug abuse.  Item 18 of the DD Form 214 he was issued shows the entry "SERVICE IN IRAQ 20080310-20090118."

3.  The DA Form 638 provided by the applicant shows that he was awarded the Army Achievement Medal (AAM) for the period 12 December 2005 to 2 December 2006 for his meritorious achievement while serving in Iraq.

4.  In the processing of this case the Board's staff contacted the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) which stated that the applicant served in Kuwait from 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

DFAS verified that the applicant served in Kuwait (the country the applicant arrived in prior to his further deployment to Iraq) from 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006.  However, since these are the dates the applicant received imminent danger pay (IDP), and IDP is paid in full month increments, these are not necessarily the dates the applicant served in Iraq.  The applicant's AAM is for the period 12 December 2005 to 2 December 2006.  It would then be appropriate to accept the date 12 December 2005 as the date the applicant arrived in Iraq since it coincides with the dates provided by DFAS.  However, the date of departure is more problematic.  If the applicant was in Iraq for even 1 day in December, he would have received IDP for the whole month.  As such, it must be presumed he was not in Iraq in December 2006.  Since the applicant received IDP for November 2006, it may be presumed that he was, in fact, in Iraq in November.  Since there is no evidence to show which day he departed Iraq, instead of denying the request due to the lack of an exact departure date, the date 30 November 2006 is used.  As such, it would be appropriate to now correct his records to reflect that he served in Iraq from 12 December 2005 to 30 November 2006.

BOARD VOTE:

____X____  ____X____  ___X_____  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 the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned be corrected by adding to item 18 "SERVICE IN IRAQ 20051212-20061130."



      ____________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)                                         AR20090005157



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090005157



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