IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 18 January 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170016098 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is 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: a. removing the following memoranda from his OMPF: * 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 8 February 2014 * 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 17 April 2016 * 346th Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) memorandum, dated 9 August 2017 b. awarding him the following: * ARCAM (1st Award) for the period 28 January 2010 through 27 January 2013 * ARCAM (2nd Award) for the period 28 January 2013 through 27 January 2016 2. The Board further determined 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 adding 346th Tactical Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) memorandum, dated 20 September 2017, to his OMPF. 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: 18 January 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170016098 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF :DSP :BMM :PWM GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 18 January 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170016098 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 removal of erroneously filed Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (ARCAM) memoranda from his official military personnel file (OMPF) and replacement with a memorandum of revocation and the proper memorandum. 2. The applicant states: a. His unit uploaded the wrong ARCAM award memoranda to his OMPF. He believes it was an unintentional error by his previous unit as they were processing several of these awards at the same time. b. After the error was discovered by his servicing personnel office, the memoranda were corrected, but officials in the interactive Personnel Electronics Records Management System (iPERMS) office stated they were not able to remove the older award memoranda and replace them with the newer corrected version. c. He would like the error corrected because the dates of the awards are wrong. As he continues with his career, he feels that his OMPF in iPERMS should be as accurate as possible. He would like to eliminate any possible issues that may arise because of the errors during future promotion boards or personnel reviews. 3. The applicant provides: * 346th Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) memorandum, dated 9 August 2017 * 346th Tactical Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) memorandum, dated 20 September 2017 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 28 January 2010 and is currently serving as a USAR troop program unit (TPU) noncommissioned officer in the rank of sergeant. 2. His records contain a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) showing he served on active duty for training (basic combat training and advanced individual training) from 25 May 2010 through 6 October 2010. He was honorably released from active duty due to completion of required active service. 3. The personnel records review folder of his OMPF contains a 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 8 February 2014, awarding him the ARCAM for the period 28 January 2010 through 27 January 2013. The memorandum contains a handwritten "X" covering the length and width of the document. 4. The personnel records review folder of his OMPF contains a 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 17 April 2016, awarding him the ARCAM for the period 17 April 2012 through 17 April 2015. The memorandum contains a handwritten "X" covering the length and width of the document. 5. Headquarters, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), Orders 17-187-00004, dated 6 July 2017, ordered him to active duty as a member of his Reserve Component unit for mobilization in support of Operation Enduring Freedom for a period of 400 days effective 27 August 2017. 6. The personnel records review folder of his OMPF contains a 346th Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) memorandum, dated 9 August 2017, awarding him the first award of the ARCAM for the period 25 May 2010 through 24 May 2013 and the second award for the period 25 May 2013 through 24 May 2016. 7. He provided 346th Tactical Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) memorandum for record, dated 20 September 2017, subject: Revocation of Incorrect Award Memorandum, for the purpose of removing the above-referenced 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 8 February 2014, awarding him the ARCAM for the period 28 January 2010 through 27 January 2013 and the above-referenced 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 17 April 2016, awarding him the ARCAM for the period 17 April 2012 through 17 April 2015 from his OMPF and replacing these memoranda with corrected information. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. a. The ARCAM is awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity while serving as a member of an Army National Guard (ARNG) or USAR TPU or as an individual mobilization augmentee (IMA). Soldiers completing three consecutive years of qualified service on or after 28 March 1995 are eligible for ARCAM consideration. (1) Such years of qualifying service must have been consecutive except for the noted wartime provisions in the regulation. A period of more than 24 hours between Reserve enlistments or an officer's service will be considered a break in service. Credit toward earning the ARCAM must begin anew after a break in service. Service while attending Officer Candidate School or Warrant Officer Candidate School will be considered enlisted service and termination will occur when the Soldier is commissioned or appointed as a warrant officer. (2) Although only unit service may be credited for award of the ARCAM, consecutive Ready Reserve service between periods of unit service will not be considered a break in service. Ready Reserve consists of units or Reserves, or both, liable for active duty as prescribed by law. Creditable service in the first unit may be added to a subsequent unit to determine total qualifying service. (3) Enlisted Soldiers who are ordered to active duty or mobilized in support of ongoing operations from the ARNG, USAR TPU, or as a USAR IMA for 365 days or more (not for training) will be awarded the ARCAM if they completed 2 of the 3 years of qualifying service. Eligibility for the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM) starts on the effective date of the active duty order. Note: Soldiers with less than 2 years of qualifying service will not be awarded the ARCAM. Service lost may be recovered if the Soldier is separated honorably from the active duty or mobilization tour and reverts to TPU service. For example, a Soldier serves 1 year and 6 months of qualifying service and is ordered to active duty. This qualifying service is not sufficient for award of the ARCAM. When the Soldier completes the active duty tour, that 1 year and 6 months is applied toward the next award of the ARCAM. Enlisted Soldiers (except Active Guard Reserve) whose periods of active duty do not meet the criteria for the AGCM will continue to receive credit of qualified time toward award of the ARCAM. b. The AGCM is awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active Federal military service. It is awarded on a selective basis to each Soldier who distinguishes himself or herself from among his or her fellow Soldiers by exemplary conduct, efficiency, and fidelity throughout a specified period of continuous enlisted active Federal military service, as outlined in this chapter. (1) Eligible personnel include Active Component enlisted Soldiers and enlisted Active Guard Reserve and Ready Reserve personnel serving on extended periods of active duty under Title 10, U.S. Code, and Title 32, U.S. Code (other than for training). (2) Any one of the following periods of continuous enlisted active Federal military service qualifies for award of the AGCM: * each 3 years completed on or after 27 August 1940 * for the first award only, 1 year served entirely during the period 7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946 * for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year * for the first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 1 year when final separation was by reason of physical disability incurred in the line of duty * for the first award only, for those individuals who died before completing 1 year of active Federal military service or if the death occurred in the line of duty (3) An award made for any authorized period of less than 3 years must be for the total period of obligated active Federal military service. This applies to the first award only; all other awards of the AGCM require 3 full years of qualifying service. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Army Military Human Resource Records Management) governs the composition of the OMPF. It states documents that pertain to general, administrative, service, and service compensation will be filed in the Soldier's service folder. Once placed in the OMPF, the document becomes a permanent part of that file. The document will not be removed from or moved to another part of the OMPF unless directed by certain agencies, to include this Board. DISCUSSION: 1. USAR TPU Soldiers completing 3 consecutive years of qualified service on or after 28 March 1995 are eligible for ARCAM consideration. Qualified service for award of the ARCAM includes periods of active duty for training, but excludes active duty or mobilized service in support of ongoing contingency operations for 365 days or more (not for training) which could be qualifying service for award of the AGCM. Where such active duty or mobilized service in support of ongoing contingency operations does not suffice for award of the AGCM, that service will continue to be considered qualified time toward award of the ARCAM. 2. The evidence of record shows the applicant completed his first 3 years of qualifying service for ARCAM consideration from 28 January 2010 (his date of USAR enlistment) through 27 January 2013, which is accurately reflected in the 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 8 February 2014, awarding him the ARCAM for the period 28 January 2010 through 27 January 2013. This memorandum is filed in the performance folder of his OMPF, albeit marked with a handwritten "X" covering the length and width of the document. 3. The evidence of record shows he completed his second 3-year period of qualifying service for ARCAM consideration from 28 January 2013 through 27 January 2016. This second 3-year period is not accurately reflected in the 401st Transportation Company memorandum, dated 17 April 2016, awarding him the ARCAM for the period 17 April 2012 through 17 April 2015. The period identified overlaps the prior ARCAM qualifying period. It is unclear why this qualifying period is erroneously reflected as beginning on 17 April 2012. This memorandum is filed in the performance folder of his OMPF, albeit marked with a handwritten "X" covering the length and width of the document. 4. He provided two memoranda, one of which is filed in his OMPF and one which is not. These memoranda attempt to reconcile his periods of ARCAM award eligibility by revoking the initial ARCAM memoranda issued by the 401st Transportation Company and replacing them with a memorandum issued by the 346th Psychological Operations Company (Airborne) identifying different periods of ARCAM eligibility. The revocation memorandum for record is not filed in his OMPF. 5. The intended corrective memorandum, which is filed in his OMPF, awards him the first award of the ARCAM for the period 25 May 2010 through 24 May 2013, and the second award for the period 25 May 2013 through 24 May 2016. The 25 May 2010 date coincides with his release from active duty for training, but it is unclear why that date was selected as the beginning of his first period of ARCAM eligibility, as his eligibility began with his enlistment in the USAR on 28 January 2010. The second period listed in the memorandum is likewise incorrect, as it begins 3 years from the conclusion of the prior erroneous period ending on 24 May 2013. 6. The evidence of record shows he met the eligibility criteria for award of the ARCAM during the following periods: * first – 28 January 2010 through 27 January 2013 * second – 28 January 2013 through 27 January 2016 7. He has not yet completed another 3-year qualifying period for a third award of the ARCAM or an initial qualifying period for award of the AGCM. 8. There is no regulatory basis for removing the memoranda issued by the 401st Transportation Company from his OMPF. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170016098 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170016098 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2