PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           12 January 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999031898

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright		Member	
	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Medical Badge be added to his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant makes no statement.  He provides his DD Form 214 as supporting evidence.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army on 12 February 1969.  He completed basic combat training and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 91B (Medical Specialist).

5.  The applicant was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry from 8 July 1970 – 31 January 1971 where he performed duties as a senior medical specialist.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal on General Orders 14288, Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), dated 6 December 1970.  There is no evidence of record to show he was awarded the Combat Medical Badge.  His DA Form 20, Personnel Qualification Record shows he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal and 1 overseas bar from his service in Vietnam.  He is also entitled to award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device.

6.  The applicant was released from active duty on 4 February 1971 after completing 1 year, 11 months and 23 days of creditable active service.  His DA Form 20 shows that his conduct and efficiency were rated as “excellent” throughout his term of service.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Medical Badge could be awarded to Medical Department personnel assigned or attached to infantry units of brigade or smaller size who satisfactorily perform medical duties while the unit is engaged in actual ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire.  The award was established to recognize medical aidmen who shared the same hazards and hardships of ground combat on a daily basis with the infantry soldier.  So stringent was this requirement during the Vietnam era that recommending officials were required to document the place (in six-digit coordinates), time, type and intensity of fire to which the proposed recipient was exposed.  This fact naturally precludes the awarding of the badge to those medical personnel who accompany infantry units into a potential engagement area but do not come under enemy fire.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that the Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded for each 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service completed on or after 27 August 1940 and, 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.  At the time, a soldier’s conduct and efficiency ratings must have been rated as “excellent” for the entire period of qualifying service. 
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.  It also shows he is entitled to award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device and the Army Good Conduct Medal.

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant served as a medical specialist with the headquarters company of an infantry battalion in Vietnam.  While it is possible he shared the hazards and hardships of the infantry troops by being present and under fire with them while they were engaged in actual ground combat, it is more likely he served in the battalion aid station.  He provides no evidence to show he served in the field under fire.

3.  In view of the foregoing, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the applicant the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 12 February 1969 – 4 February 1971.

2.  That the applicant’s DD Form 214 be amended to add the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device.

3.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jns___  __inw___  __lls___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			John N. Slone
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999031898	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000112	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0113	
2.	110.04	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.