BOARD DATE: 11 July 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160019473 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING :x :x :x DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 11 July 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160019473 THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests, in effect, correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his date of birth (DOB) as . 2. The applicant states, he was unaware of his correct DOB until he attempted to file for social security benefits. He further states, he used since first grade and only recently noticed the discrepancy with the DOB on his birth certificate and DD Form 214. THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records with supporting document(s): State of Texas Certification of Vital Records, issued on 14 August 2008. 2. Military personnel records and advisory opinion(s) (if any): * DD Form 398 (Statement of Personal History), dated * DD Form 47 (Record of Induction), dated * DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), dated * DD Form 214, for the period ending REFERENCES: Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), then in effect, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It established standardized policy for preparation of the DD Form 214. The DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. DISCUSSION: 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, and 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 contends his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his DOB as . 3. The applicant listed as his DOB at the time he was inducted into military service on 17 February 1971. The applicant represented his DOB as throughout the entire period of his military service. This DOB is consistently represented in the documents contained in his MPRJ. He authenticated many documents by placing his full signature in the appropriate block attesting to the correctness of the represented DOB. The requested DOB does not appear in his available military records. 4. He submitted a copy of his birth certificate that shows his DOB as ; however, he did not claim this DOB during his entire period of military service. 5. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records. The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created. In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed. 6. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document will be filed in his records to clarify the difference between the DOB listed in his records and that listed on his birth certificate. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006036