ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 18 October 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170006265 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) block 24 (Character of Service) to reflect an honorable discharge for his service in the National Guard period. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * ARNG (Army National Guard) Retirement Credit * DD Form 214, for period 01 July 1985 through 14 September 1985 * NGB (National Guard Bureau) Form 22, dated 23 July 1987 * IOBC (Infantry Officer Basic Course) diploma, dated 27 May 1988 * DA Form 71 (Oath of Office), , dated 30 July 1988 * Certificate of Service, dated 28 February 1989 * Scroll of Appreciation , dated 14 June 1989 * Discharge Certificate, , dated 1 July 1990 * Certificate of Recognition, dated 26 December 1991 * VA Form 26-8320a, dated 31 October 1994 * Veteran Affairs (VA) Letter, dated 19 December 1994 * Orders D-03-5261555, dated 21 March 1995 * Discharge Certificate, dated 8 May 1995 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 that he would like his DD Form 214 to reflect his honorable discharge from the Army National Guard (ARNG) from the time he enlisted in 1984 and separated on 19 February 1994. He further states that he served honorable and enlisted as a private. He rose through the ranks and became an officer and was discharged as a first lieutenant. He attended Infantry Officer Basic course and passed at Fort Benning GA. He is trying to get service credit for his military service. His company will not accept NGB (National Guard Bureau) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service). 3. The applicant provides a copy of: * ARNG (Army National Guard) Retirement Credit, that shows service period 19 February 1984 through 30 September 1987 * DD Form 214, for period 01 July 1985 through 14 September 1985, that shows block 24 Entry Level Status * NGB (National Guard Bureau) Form 22, dated 23 July 1987, that shows honorable character of discharge * IOBC diploma, dated 27 May 1988 * DA Form 71, dated 30 July 1988, that shows the applicant was commissioned as a reserve officer * Certificate of Service, dated 28 February 1989, that shows 5 years of faithful service * Scroll of Appreciation, dated 14 June 1989, for outstanding leadership * Discharge Certificate, dated 1 July 1990, that shows an honorable character of service * Certificate of Recognition, dated 26 December 1991, that shows Cold War service * VA Form 26-8320a, dated 31 October 1994, that shows home loan guarantee certificate number * Veteran Affairs (VA) Letter, dated 19 December 1994, that shows approval of home loan guarantee * Orders D-03-5261555, dated 21 March 1995, discharge the applicant from the USAR (U.S. Army Reserve) with an honorable character of service * Discharge Certificate, dated 8 May 1995, discharge the applicant from USAR with an honorable character of service 4. A review of the applicant’s service record shows the following: a. He enlisted in the ARNG on 19 February 1984. b. He was released from active duty on 14 September 1985. His DD Form 214 shows that he completed 2 months and 14 days of active duty service. Block 24 (Character of Service) entry level status. Block 28 (Narrative Reason of Separation) expiration term of service. c. NGB Form 22, discharges the applicant from the ARNG on 23 July 1987 with an honorable character of service. d. Orders 143-46, dated 24 July 1987, shows that the applicant was discharged from the ARNG effective 23 July 1987 with an honorable discharge. He was appointed as a second lieutenant effective 23 July 1987. e. DA Form 71, dated 30 July 1988, shows the applicant was commissioned as a reserve officer. f. Memorandum, dated 23 July 1990, promotes the applicant to first lieutenant effective 23 July 1990. g. Orders D-03-526155, dated 21 March 1995, discharges the applicant from the USAR effective 8 May 1995 with an honorable character of service. h. DARP Form 249-2 (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points), dated 12 May 1995, shows the applicants service from 19 February 1984 to 18 February 1995. 5. NGR (National Guard Regulation) 600-200 (Enlisted Personnel Management) paragraph 4-27, states that: a. Soldiers may volunteer for assignment to units under alert for call or order to active duty for any purpose. State AGs (Attorney General) will prescribe policies and procedures to assign Soldiers to vacant authorized positions in units alerted for active duty. Assignments will be in the grade and MOS required for the position. Soldiers with SMOS (Secondary Military Occupational Specialty or AMOS (Additional Military Occupational Specialty) required for these duties will have their MOS’s redesignated as primary for this purpose effective on the date of assignment to the unit. b. States that approve volunteers for assignments in an above will ensure that these Soldiers have positions to return to upon completion of the duty. Return these Soldiers to their original unit and duty position no later than 90 days after REFRAD (Relief from Active Duty) or upon completion of state directed re-integration, whichever is later. c. Soldiers reduced to enter these tours will be promoted to their former grades, without board action, effective on their date of return per AR 600-8-19, paragraph 7-14d unless prohibited by that paragraph. d. All Soldiers known to have, or whom commanders have reasonable cause to believe have, a qualifying conviction are not mobilization assets and are nondeployable for missions that require possession of firearms or ammunition. 6. By regulation (AR 635-200), paragraph 4-2h applies to Reserve Component personnel ordered to active duty for initial entry training. A member being separated upon expiration of enlistment or fulfillment of service obligation will be awarded a character of service of honorable, unless an entry level separation is required. A separation is described as entry level separation if processing is initiated while a member is in entry level status, except in the following circumstances: when characterization under other than honorable conditions is authorized or when the Secretary of the Army determines that a characterization of honorable is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found partial relief was warranted. The applicant’s contentions were carefully considered. He completed a period of active duty while conducting initial entry training (IET). He was awarded a MOS at the completion of IET and was transferred back to the ARNG. Army Regulation 635-200 provides that when a RC Soldier successfully completes IADT, the character of service is Honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation authority. Based upon regulatory guidance, the Board agreed the DD Form 214 should show his character of service as Honorable. The request to show his entire period of ARNG service on the DD Form 214 is denied, as the form ended on the date he was transferred to the ARNG. The Board wished to inform the applicant that only active duty service is reflected on DD Form 214s; reflecting ARNG duty on a DD Form 214 is not appropriate per regulatory guidance. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF X :X :X GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION ? BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is 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 reissuing him a DD Form 214 for the period ending 14 September 1985 showing his character of service as Honorable. 2. The Board further determined 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 adding additional service dates to his DD Form 214. 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) DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty).will be issued to provide missing information or to correct any information. Block 24 states that authorized entries are honorable, under honorable conditions (general), under other than honorable conditions, bad conduct, dishonorable, to be determined. 3. AR 635-200 (Personnel Separations) prescribes the policies and procedures for the separation of enlisted personnel. a. Paragraph 3-9 provides for the entry level separation. It states a separation is described as entry level separation if processing is initiated while a member is in entry level status, except in the following circumstances: when characterization under other than honorable conditions is authorized or when the Secretary of the Army determines that a characterization of honorable is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. b. Paragraph 4-2h applies to Reserve Component personnel ordered to active duty for initial entry training. c. Paragraph 4-4, characterization of service. A member being separated upon expiration of enlistment or fulfillment of service obligation will be awarded a character of service of honorable, unless an entry level separation is required. 4. By regulation (AR 635-200), paragraph 4-2h applies to Reserve Component personnel ordered to active duty for initial entry training. A member being separated upon expiration of enlistment or fulfillment of service obligation will be awarded a character of service of honorable, unless an entry level separation is required. A separation is described as entry level separation if processing is initiated while a member is in entry level status, except in the following circumstances: when characterization under other than honorable conditions is authorized or when the Secretary of the Army determines that a characterization of honorable is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170006265 6 1