IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 1 December 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090010562 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 item 22 (Official Authorized to Sign) of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) for the period ending 3 August 1991 be signed by an appropriate authority. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that the lack of a signature from an appropriate authority makes her DD Form 214 unofficial. 3. The applicant provides a copy of her DD Form 214 as documentary evidence in support of this application. 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’s DD Form 214 shows that as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), she was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm on 27 August 1990. She served on active duty for a period of 11 months and 7 days prior to being honorably released from active duty on 3 August 1991. 3. There is no signature in item 22 of the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 3 August 1991 which was filed in her Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). 4. Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. Paragraph 2-4, in pertinent part, requires the signature in item 22 of the official authorized to sign the form. The signature indicates the information in the certificate is as correct as the records permit, that a quality control check has been made, and that the separation is valid and authorized by the approval authority. Only a commissioned or warrant officer may authenticate a DD Form 214; however, when the chief or acting chief of the transition center is a staff sergeant, GS-07, or higher, or an authorized contractor employee, that individual may sign. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's contention that item 22 of her DD Form 214 for the period ending 3 August 1991 should be signed by an appropriate authority was carefully considered and determined to have merit. 2. There is no signature in item 22 of either the applicant's OMPF or personal copy of her DD Form 214 for the period ending 3 August 1991. 3. It appears that the approval authority inadvertently forgot to sign the applicant's DD Form 214 at the time of her separation. Therefore, the applicant's records should be corrected to show that an approval authority signed her DD Form 214. Additionally, copies of the corrected DD Form 214 should be provided to the applicant and filed in her OMPF. 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. preparing a corrected copy of her DD Form 214 which bears the signature of an authorized signature authority; b. issuing a copy of the corrected DD Form 214 to the applicant; and c. filing a copy of the same in her OMPF. ____________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) AR20090010562 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090010562 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1