IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 21 April 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150008414 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ____X____ ____X__ ____X___ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 21 April 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150008414 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by issuing him a statement of service for his period of initial active duty for training from on or about 7 February 1985 through on or about 12 June 1985. 2. The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to correction of item 12a (Date Entered Active Duty This Period) of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), ending on 15 June 1998. _____________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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 21 April 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150008414 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 item 12a (Date Entered Active Duty (AD) This Period) of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), ending on 15 June 1998, to show an entry date in January 1985. 2. The applicant states he entered on AD for basic training in January 1985 and completed advanced individual training (AIT) in June 1985. He is being denied a scholarship under the Alabama Dependent's GI Scholarship Program because his 1998 DD Form 214 does not list his January 1985 entry date. 3. The applicant provides copies of: * 1985 DD Form 4/1 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) * Orders Number 07-17, 088-560, and 88-106 * DA Form 3725 (Army Reserve Status and Address Verification) * two DD Forms 214 ending on 15 June 1998 and 21 September 2003 * letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 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 the cases 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. 2. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 10 January 1985. 3. He provides copies of: * Orders Number 07-17, issued by the Military Entrance Processing Station on 10 January 1985, ordering him to initial AD for training (IADT) with a reporting date of 11 February 1985 and an AIT reporting date of 5 April 1985 * Orders Number 088-560, issued by Headquarters, U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Dix, NJ on 29 March 1985, assigning him to the U.S. Army Chemical School, AIT, 7th Training Brigade, effective 13 April 1985 * Orders Number 88-106, issued by the U.S. Army Chemical and Military Police Centers and Fort McClellan, AL on 6 May 1985, awarding him military occupational specialty 54C (Smoke Operations Specialist) effective 12 June 1985 4. Section VII – Current and Previous Assignments of his DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II) shows he entered IADT on 7 February 1985, completed basic combat training and AIT, was released from AD after completion of AIT, and was transferred to a USAR unit. He was assigned to a Reserve unit on 14 June 1985. 5. His military records located in the interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) and Soldier Management System, located on the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Integrated Web Service (IWS), failed to reveal a DD Form 214 was issued for his period of IADT in 1985. 6. He also provides a copy of a DA Form 3725, dated 18 July 1985, verifying his USAR status and address. 7. He reenlisted in the USAR on 24 January 1993. He again entered AD on 1 March 1998 in support of Operation Southern Watch. He was released from AD on 15 June 1998 and transferred to a USAR unit. His DD Form 214 lists in: * Item 12a – 1 March 1998 * Item 12b (Separation Date This Period) – 15 June 1998 * Item 12c (Net Active Service This Period) – 3 months and 15 days * Item 12d (Total Prior Active Service) – 4 months and 7 days 8. He again entered on AD in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on 29 October 2001. He was released from AD on 21 September 2003 and was transferred to a USAR unit. He was credited with completing 1 year, 10 months, and 23 days of net active service. His DD Form 214 lists in item 12d – 7 months and 22 days. 9. He further provides a copy of a letter, dated 16 March 2015, in which the VA advised him that a copy of a DD Form 214 showing where he entered on AD in 1985 for 4 months and 7 days was required to complete his scholarship application. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 635-8 (Personnel Separations – Separation Processing and Documents) explains separation document preparation, distribution, and correction. The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous AD (emphasis added). It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge, and is not intended to have any legal effect on termination of a Soldier's service. 2. Paragraph 8-2c of the regulation states if no DD Form 214 is available, issue a statement of service or transcript of military record. The DD Form 214 would be prepared for all personal at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty. The regulation states: * Item 12a – would list the beginning date of the continuous period of active duty for issuance of the DD Form 214 * Item 12b – would list the separation transition date * Item 12c – would list the amount of service that period, computed by subtracting item 12a from 12b, less time lost DISCUSSION: The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous AD. a. The applicant initially entered AD on or about 7 February 1985 and he was separated/released from AD on or about 12 June 1985. He completed 4 months and 7 days of active service. A DD Form 214 for this period of active service is not available for review with this case. By regulatory guidance, a DD Form 214 is not re-issued. Rather, a statement of service is issued if no DD Form 214 is available. As a matter of clarity, the applicant is eligible for the issuance of such statement. b. He reentered AD on 1 March 1998 and he was honorably released from AD on 15 June 1998. He was issued a separate DD Form 214 for this period that captured his 3 months and 15 days of net active service this period as well as his 4 months and 7 days of prior active service. c. He entered AD a third time on 29 October 2001 and he was honorably released from AD on 21 September 2003, completing 1 year, 10 months and 23 days of active service. He was issued a separate DD Form 214 for this period that captured his net active service this period as well as his 7 months and 22 days of prior active service. d. The consolidation of two or more DD Forms 214 is not authorized. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150008414 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150008414 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2