IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 17 November 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150004623 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 official military personnel file (OMPF) by removing a misfiled award of the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) that belongs to another Soldier and by adding a foreign award he was awarded by the Government of Chile. 2. The applicant states an award that belongs to another Soldier is misfiled in his OMPF. He also earned a foreign award which is not shown in his records. 3. The applicant provides a foreign document that appears to have been issued by a colonel in the Chilean Army and an MSM Certificate for another Soldier. 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. With respect to the foreign award: a. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Award) prescribes Department of the Army (DA) policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. Chapter 9, Section V governs the "Application for Authority for U.S. Army Personnel to Accept and Wear Foreign Badges and Decorations." Paragraph 9-26 governs foreign badges. b. Qualification and special skill badges may be accepted if awarded in recognition of meeting the criteria, as established by the foreign government concerned, for the specific award. Only those badges that are awarded in recognition of military activities and by the military department of the host country are authorized for acceptance and permanent wear. c. Commanders (overseas and CONUS) serving in the rank of brigadier general or above and colonel-level commanders who exercise general court-martial authority are delegated authority to approve acceptance, retention, and permanent wear of foreign badges listed in Appendix D. This authority may be further delegated to commanders charged with custody of military personnel record files. The burden of proof rests on the individual Soldier to produce valid justification, that is, orders, citations, or other original copies of the foreign elements that awarded them the badge. Any foreign badges not listed in Appendix D will be forwarded to Commander, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Awards and Decorations Branch (ADB), AHRC–PDP–A, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122, for approval. d. Foreign badges listed in Appendix D are not annotated in an individual’s Officer/Enlisted Record Brief or entered on the DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty). The approved memorandum for acceptance and wear of foreign badges endorsed by the first general officer in the chain of command or HRC, ADB to include a copy of the certificate and its supporting documents will be entered in the Army Military Human Resource Record of the recipient. Foreign badges authorized for acceptance and wear on the Army uniform are shown in Appendix D, Table D–1. e. The applicant did not provide an approval memorandum authorizing him to accept and wear the foreign award he claims. He is advised to submit a written request in letter format to HRC for authorization to accept and wear the requested foreign award. Supporting evidence should include said certificate with an English translation. This issue will not be discussed further in this Record of Proceedings. 3. Having had prior service, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 12 October 1983. He served through multiple extensions or reenlistments and he was promoted to command sergeant major. 4. He was released from his USAR troop program unit and transferred to the Retired Reserve on 12 October 2009. 5. His OMPF contains an MSM Certificate belonging to another individual, Sergeant First Class (SFC) JJE. 6. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Army Military Human Resource Records Management) prescribes the policies governing the OMPF and its composition. This regulation states that only documents pertaining to a Soldier’s military career will be filed in their OMPF. Once a document is placed in the OMPF it becomes a permanent part of that record and will not be removed from or moved to another folder unless directed by a proper authority such as the ABCMR. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The applicant's OMPF contains an MSM Certificate that belongs to another Soldier and it should be removed per regulatory guidance. 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 removing from his OMPF the MSM Certificate for SFC JJE. ___________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) AR20150004623 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150004623 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1