IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 11 September 2014 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140002648 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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to reflect his service in Southwest Asia (SWA) during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. 2. The applicant states his DD Form 214 does not reflect his true combat service during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. 3. The applicant provides a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), correspondence from his representative in Congress, and a letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Awards and Decorations Branch. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. 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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 1 March 1988. 3. Item 5 (Oversea Service) of his DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) shows he served in Korea from 12 January 1989 to 11 January 1990 (1 year). 4. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) compiled the Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm data base. This data base shows he served in SWA from 1 August 1990 to 3 April 1991 (8 months and 3 days). 5. He was honorably released from active duty on 28 February 1992. His DD Form 214, as amended by a DD Form 215 dated 13 February 2012, shows he was awarded or authorized the: * Army Service Ribbon * Army Lapel Button * National Defense Service Medal * Parachutist Badge * Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar * Overseas Service Ribbon * Army Good Conduct Medal * Drivers Badge * Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars * Kuwait Liberation Medal-Saudi Arabia * Kuwait Liberation Medal-Kuwait 6. Block 12f (Foreign Service) of his DD Form 214 shows he served 1 year of foreign service (service in Korea). Block 18 (Remarks) does not show deployment data. 7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Korea Defense Service Medal is authorized for award to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who have served on active duty in support of the defense of the Republic of Korea. The period of eligibility is 28 July 1954 to a date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense. 8. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect during the applicant's active duty service, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It provided standardized policy for preparation of the DD Form 214 and stated: a. in block 12f, enter the total amount of foreign service completed during the period covered in block 12c (Net Service This Period); and b. in block 18, 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 block 18. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to reflect his service in SWA has been carefully considered. 2. The information contained in the DMDC data base, an official data base used to verify service in SWA during the relevant time frame, confirms he served in SWA from 1 August 1990 to 3 April 1991 (8 months and 3 days). This information should be used to correct block 18 of his DD Form 214 to show his dates of deployment to SWA. Additionally, block 12f of his DD Form 214 should be corrected to reflect 1 year, 8 months, and 3 days of foreign service. 3. The evidence shows he served in Korea for a period of 1 year. Therefore, he is authorized the Korea Defense Service Medal and correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award. 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 all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. replacing the current entry in block 12f of his DD Form 214 with the entry "01 08 03"; b. adding to his DD Form 214 the Korea Defense Service Medal; and c. adding to block 18 of his DD Form 214 the entry "SERVICE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA FROM 19900801-19910403." _______ _ __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) AR20140002648 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140002648 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1