IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 February 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150007198 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, in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his complete record of service. 2. The applicant states that he served in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) from 11 November 1989 to 11 November 1997, which included six years of active service and two years of inactive service. a. He states he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 63rd U.S. Army Reserve Command. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal during Operation Desert Storm and the equivalent of the Army Good Conduct Medal (i.e., Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal). b. His DD Form 214 shows the time he served in basic combat training and advanced individual training; however, his other service is missing. He recently discovered this during his processing at the California State Military Reserve. 3. The applicant provides copies of his: * Chronological Statement of Retirement Points * U.S. Army Aviation Center Diploma * DD Form 214 * three Active Duty for Training (ADT) orders * DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) * three Leave and Earnings Statements (LESs) * DD Form 256A (Honorable Discharge Certificate) 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 enlisted in the USAR on 18 November 1989 for a period of 8 years. 3. Headquarters, 63rd U.S. Army Reserve Command, Armed Forces Reserve Center (AFRC), Los Alamitos, CA, Orders 046-044, dated 29 December 1989, assigned the applicant to Company D, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, AFRC, Los Alamitos, CA, effective 11 December 1989. 4. Two orders issued by Headquarters, U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, AL, pertaining to the applicant, show that effective 18 December 1990 or upon successful completion of training – * Permanent Orders 191-13, dated 11 October 1990, awarded him the Aircraft Crewman Badge (Permanent) * Orders 285-259, dated 12 October 1990, awarded him military occupational specialty (MOS) 67N1O (UH-1 Helicopter Repairer) 5. Department of the Army, Certificate of Achievement, dated 20 December 1990, recognized the applicant for his exceptionally high degree of personal initiative, motivation, and ability during the period 21 October 1990 to 10 December 1990. 6. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was ordered to ADT on 1 August 1990, released from ADT on 14 December 1990, and transferred a USAR unit. He had completed 4 months and 14 days of net active service this period, and 8 months and 13 days of total prior inactive service. It also shows in: * item 6 (Reserve Obligation Termination Date): 17 November 1997 * item 4a (Grade, Rate or Rank): PV1 [Private] * item 4b (Pay Grade): E1 * item 8a (Last Duty Assignment and Major Command): Company C, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command * item 8b (Station Where Separated): Fort Rucker, AL * item 9 (Command to Which Transferred) Company B, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, AFRC, Los Alamitos, CA * item 12 (Record of Service), block h (Effective Date of Pay Grade): "90 08 01” [1 August 1990] * item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) – * Army Service Ribbon * Aircraft Crewman Badge * Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar * Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade Bar * item 14 (Military Education): UH-1 Helicopter Repairer Course, 11 weeks, December 1990 * item 24 (Character of Service): "Uncharacterized" 7. His DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) shows in: * item 6 (MOS): 67N1O, UH-1 Helicopter Repairer, 14 December 1990 * item 9 (Awards, Decorations and Campaigns) – * Army Service Ribbon * Aircraft Crewman Badge * National Defense Service Medal * Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal * Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle (M-16) Bar * Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade Bar * item 18 (Appointments and Reductions), effective date and date of rank (DOR) – * private (PV1), 18 November 1989 * private (PV2), 9 January 1991 * private first class (PFC), 10 June 1991 * specialist (SPC), 30 September 1992 * item 35 (Record of Assignments): Company D, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, Los Alamitos, CA, effective 18 November 1989 8. Headquarters, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, Los Alamitos, CA, memorandum, dated 3 December 1993, shows the commanding officer awarded the applicant the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal for the period of service from November 1989 to November 1993. 9. Headquarters, 63rd U.S. Army Reserve Command, Los Alamitos, CA, Orders 075-014, dated 28 November 1995, released the applicant from Company D, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, AFRC, Los Alamitos, CA, and assigned him to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) effective 28 November 1995. 10. A Chronological Statement of Retirement Points shows his service from retirement year beginning date 18 November 1988 through retirement year ending date 18 November 1997 and that he had 342 total points creditable. 11. In support of his application the applicant provides the following documents. a. Chronological Statement of Retirement Points, dated 6 April 1991, that shows his service from retirement year beginning date 18 November 1988 through retirement year ending date 17 November 1990 and that he had 61 total points creditable at that time. b. U.S. Army Aviation Center Diploma that shows the applicant graduated from the UH-1 Helicopter Repair Course (MOS 67N), Class 91-1, on 13 December 1990. c. Headquarters, 63rd U.S. Army Reserve Command, Los Alamitos, CA, Orders 205-029, dated 9 August 1991, as amended by Orders 208-004, dated 12 August 1991 that shows the applicant was ordered to ADT for a period of 16 days (plus travel time), on 15 August 1991, in support of Joint Task Force 6. d. Headquarters, 63rd U.S. Army Reserve Command, Los Alamitos, CA, Orders 015-015, dated 16 October 1991, that shows the applicant was ordered to ADT for a period of 3 days (plus travel time), on 22 November 1991, in support of the commanding general's marksmanship matches. e. DA Form 4187 that shows the applicant was promoted to SPC (E-4) effective and with a DOR of 30 September 1992. f. Three LESs for the months of March, April, and May 1993 that document his pay and allowances in pay grade E-4 for each respective month. g. A DD Form 256A that shows the applicant was honorably discharged from the USAR and the U.S. Army on 18 November 1997. 12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 and 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 and 14 August 1974, 2 August 1990 and 30 November 1995, and 11 September 2001 and a date to be determined. 13. Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations – Separation Documents), in effect at the time of the applicant's release from ADT, prescribed the separation documents that must be prepared for Soldiers on retirement, discharge, release from active duty service (emphasis added), or control of the Active Army. It also established standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. a. Chapter 2 contains guidance on the preparation of the DD Form 214. It states, in pertinent part, that the source documents for entering information on the DD Form 214 will be the Personnel Qualification Record, Officer Record Brief, enlistment/reenlistment documents, personnel finance records, discharge documents, separation orders, or any other document authorized for filing in the Official Military Personnel File. b. The purpose of a separation document is to provide the individual with documentary evidence of their military service at the time of separation. Therefore, it is important the information entered thereon is complete and accurate as of that date. c. Table 2-1 (DD Form 214 Preparation Instructions) contains item-by-item instructions for completing the DD Form 214. The instructions show for – * item 12, block h, enter the effective date of promotion to pay grade * item 13, entries will be for all periods of service; check the Soldier's military service records for the validity of awards; do not abbreviate when listing the entries; list the entries in order of precedent * item 24, authorized entries are Honorable, Under Honorable Conditions (General), Under Other Than Honorable Conditions, Bad Conduct, Dishonorable, and Uncharacterized d. A change to the Separation Documents regulation subsequent to the applicant's period of ADT shows that when a Reserve Component Soldier successfully completes initial ADT the character of service is honorable, unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant contends that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his complete record of service. 2. The evidence of record shows the purpose of a DD Form 214 is to provide the individual with documentary evidence of their military service at the time of separation from active duty. a. The evidence of record shows the applicant's DD Form 214 provides documentary evidence of the applicant's military service for the period 1 August 1990 through 14 December 1990. b. However, the evidence of record also shows – * the effective date of his appointment to the grade of rank of PV1 was 18 November 1989 (vice 1 August 1990) * the character of his service now may be characterized as honorable (vice uncharacterized) * he qualified for award of the National Defense Service Medal based on his honorable active service subsequent to 1 August 1990 and through 14 December 1990 c. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct the corresponding items on his DD Form 214 to show the above corrections. 3. The evidence of record shows the applicant's military personnel records, which include his Personnel Qualification Record, enlistment documents, reassignment orders, separation orders, and other documents that are filed in his Official Military Personnel File, provide documentary evidence of his record of military service from the date of his enlistment (18 November 1989) through the date of his discharge (18 November 1997). These records include his units of assignment, awards and decorations, and periods of active and inactive service. However, information related to the military service he performed subsequent to the date of release from his initial ADT is not authorized to be entered on his DD Form 214 because only documentary evidence of the military service at the time of his separation (i.e., 14 December 1990) is to be recorded on that particular DD Form 214. 4. Therefore, in view of the foregoing, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant's DD Form 214, as recommended below. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ____x___ ___x____ ____x___ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 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 correcting his DD Form 214 by: * deleting from item 12h the current entry and adding the entry, "89 11 18" * adding to item 13 the "National Defense Service Medal" * deleting from item 24 the current entry and adding the entry, "Honorable" 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 his unit(s) of assignment, awards and decorations, and other periods of active and inactive service. ___________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) AR20150007198 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150007198 7 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1