ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  10 December 2019

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20170003968


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  active duty service credit from 19 March 1997 through 
September 2001 and foreign service credit from 1999 through 2000.

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

*	DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)
*	VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim)
*	Fax Cover Sheet dated 12 December 2016

FACTS:

1.  The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United 
States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military 
Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in 
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 

2.  The applicant states he was on active duty from 19 March 1997 through September 
2001.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, 
NC.  He spent time in Kosovo and Bosnia from the end of 1999 through 2000 and listed 
five service members he served with.

3.  The applicant provides the above listed documents.

4.  A review of the applicant’s service record shows:

a.	He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 19 March 1998.

b.	He entered active duty on 24 June 1999 to complete active duty training.

   c.  Orders 277-07, dated 4 October 1999, ordered the applicant to the United States 
Army Training Center on Fort Jackson, SC.  The document noted on the bottom he 
arrived on Fort Jackson on 16 October 1999.

   d.  He was released from active duty on 15 December 1999 with an uncharacterized 
characterization of service.  His DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from 
Active Duty) shows he completed 5 months and 22 days of active service with 3 months 
of prior active service and 1 year and 5 days of prior inactive service.  It also shows he 
was awarded the Army Service Ribbon.  Block 23 (Type of Separation) shows he was 
released from active duty training.
   
   e.  Orders 01-158-001, dated 7 June 2001, ordered the applicant discharged from 
the USAR effective 7 June 2001 with a general, under honorable conditions 
characterization of service.

5.  On 2 December 2019, a member of the DFAS office provided an email stating the 
records only go back as far as September 2000 and from that point through the 
applicant’s discharge date, there was no record of foreign service.

6.  By regulation (AR 635-5), the DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier's most 
recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of all current 
active, prior active, and prior inactive duty service at the time of release from active 
duty, retirement, or discharge.  The information entered thereon reflects the conditions 
as they existed at the time of separation.  

7.  By regulation (AR 15-185), the ABCMR is not an investigative body and decides 
cases based on the evidence that is presented in the military records provided and the 
independent evidence submitted with the application.  The applicant has the burden of 
proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.  

BOARD DISCUSSION:

After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found relief was 
not warranted.  Although the applicant lists several people who served with him, the 
applicant failed to provide any corroborating documentary evidence to support his 
statements.  His records show he completed one period of active duty for training, no 
other active duty.  Therefore, based upon the documentary evidence provided by the 
applicant and found within the military service record, the Board concluded there was 
insufficient evidence to support relief.  

However, the Board wished to inform the applicant that if he can provide additional 
supporting evidence/additional documentation, he may reapply to this Board for 
reconsideration of his case..



BOARD VOTE:

Mbr 1	Mbr 2	Mbr 3

:	:	:	GRANT FULL RELIEF

:	:	:	GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

:	:	:	GRANT FORMAL HEARING

X	X	X	DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or 
injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient 
as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

	  
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.

REFERENCES:

1.  Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military 
records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  
This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely 
file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in 
the interest of justice to do so.

2.  Army Regulation (AR) 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, states the 
DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active 
duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of all current active, prior active, and prior 
inactive duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge.  
The information entered thereon reflects the conditions as they existed at the time of 
separation.  



3.  AR 15-185 (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military 
records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR.  The ABCMR begins 
its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity, which is 
that what the Army did was correct.  The ABCMR is not an investigative body and 
decides cases based on the evidence that is presented in the military records provided 
and the independent evidence submitted with the application.  The applicant has the 
burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.  

NOTHING FOLLOWS

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20170003968

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