ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 13 December 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170007312 APPLICANT REQUESTS: issuance of a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge) covering his period of active service from 18 May 1998 through 16 July 1998. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Military Entrance Processing Station Orders 92-8, dated 11 May 1998 * Headquarters, U.S. Army Infantry Center Memorandum, dated 16 July 1998 * DD Form 214, covering the period 24 February 2003 through 18 May 2004 * U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) Orders D-01-601932, dated 24 January 2006 * email correspondence, dated 7 February 2017 * Federal Employees Retirement System information sheet * Army Board for Correction of Military Records information sheet 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: a. He is requesting the issuance of a DD Form 214 for his period of honorable active service from 18 May 1998 through 16 July 1998, when he attended Basic Combat Training (BCT). b. The record is not in error, but it is unjust because the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will not allow him credit for this military service without a DD Form 214 that indicates the period of service was honorable. c. The USPS and OPM require a DD Form 214 for all periods of active duty longer than 1 month. He completed his 8-year U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) contract and was honorably discharged on 24 January 2006. As a Reservist, he was not issued a DD Form 214 after completing BCT. He was only issued orders releasing him from initial active duty for training (IADT) and returning him to the USAR. d. He was only recently informed of this problem by human resources officials at the USPS. He included his email notification in his documentation. He asked that a DD Form 214 be issued so he may demonstrate all of his service was honorable. 3. The applicant enlisted in the USAR on 24 January 1998. 4. Military Entrance Processing Station Orders 92-8, dated 11 May 1998, show he was ordered to IADT effective 14 May 1998, for approximately 10 weeks of BCT under the alternate (split) training program and return home no later than 24 July 1998. 5. A Headquarters, U.S. Army Infantry Center memorandum, dated 16 July 1998, shows the applicant completed BCT and was released from ADT for return to the state of Colorado. It further shows his active duty service at BCT was from 18 May 1998 through 16 July 1998. 6. A voided DD Form 214, shows he was released from active duty and returned to his USAR unit due to the completion Advanced Individual Training (AIT), from 3 June 1999 through 6 August 1999, where he was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) 77F (Petroleum Supply Specialist). He was credited with 2 months and 4 days of net active service, which on this voided DD Form 214 was uncharacterized. 7. Due to a change in regulatory guidance regarding the completion of IADT training for USAR Soldiers wherein an MOS is awarded, HRC issued the applicant a new DD Form 214 covering his period of active service for AIT from 3 June 1999 through 6 August 1999. This new DD Form 214, issued on 25 May 2016, shows his period of active service for AIT was characterized as honorable. 8. On 26 May 2016, HRC voided the applicant’s prior DD Form 214 wherein his AIT service was uncharacterized. 9. A DD Form 214, covering the period 24 February 2003 through 18 May 2004 shows he applicant was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom with service in Kuwait and Iraq. He was honorably released from active duty after 1 year, 2 months, and 25 days, and returned to his USAR unit. 10. HRC Orders D-01-601932, dated 24 January 2006, show he was honorably discharged from the USAR. 11. The applicant provided email correspondence between himself and a USPS official stating his honorable active service from 3 June 1999 through 6 August 1999 was credited to his USPS retirement computation, but that he was seeking credit for his BCT active service from May 1998 through July 1998 as well, which was not being credited due to lack of DD Form 214 showing honorable service. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents, evidence in the records and policy pertaining to the issuance of DD forms 214 to members of the Reserve Component who complete a period of active duty. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, his service records, his split-based training as a member of the Reserve Component and the DD Form 214 he was issued upon completion of AIT and award of an MOS (77F). The Board found that the DD Form 214 he was issued did not include his previous active duty service while in Basic Combat Training as indicated in item 12d. The Board found that the applicant did not complete a period of active duty of sufficient length while at BCT to require a DD Form 214, but determined that a correction to the applicant’s DD Form 214 to reflect that period was appropriate. The Board concurs with the correction stated in the Administrative Note(s). 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is 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 amending the applicant’s corrected DD Form 214 issued by HRC on 25 May 2016, covering the period of honorable active service from 3 June 1999 through 6 August 1999 as follows: * Item 12.b (Total Prior Active Service) – “00 (years) 01 (month) 29 (days), and; * Item 18 (Remarks) – add “Alternate (Split) Training Program, Completed Active Duty Basic Combat Training 980518 – 980716.” 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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): The applicant’s corrected DD Form 214 issued by HRC on 25 May 2016, covering the period of honorable active service from 3 June 1999 through 6 August 1999, has not been uploaded to his Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) record and requires upload. 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 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribes policies and procedures regarding separation documents, to include the preparation and issuance of the DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty). It states a DD Form 214 will be prepared for Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers in the following categories: * separation for physical disability, regardless of the period of time served on active duty * after completing 90 days or more of continuous active duty training (ADT) , Full- Time Training Duty, or active duty support * after completing initial ADT (IADT) which resulted in the award of a military occupational specialty (MOS), even if the active duty was less than 90 days, including advanced individual training (AIT) under the Army National Guard (ARNG) Alternate Training Program or U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Split Training Program * release from a special active duty training program tour 3. Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents), supersedes Army Regulation 635-5 and is currently in effect. It prescribes policy and procedural guidance related to transition management, to include the preparation and distribution of the DD Form 214. a. A DD Form 214 will be prepared for RC Soldiers in the following categories: * RC Soldiers separated for cause or physical disability regardless of the length of time served on active duty * Army National Guard (ARNG) and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Soldiers mobilized under Title 10 USC 12301, 12302, or 12304 and ARNG Soldiers called into Federal Service under Title 10 USC 15 or 12406, regardless of length of mobilization, when transitioned from active duty * RC Soldiers completing active duty that results in the award of a MOS, even when the active duty period was less than 90 days (for example, completion of the AIT component of ARNG Alternate Training Program or USAR Split Training Program) b. Paragraph 5-6 states the rules for the completion of the DD Form 214. The instructions for the completion of block 24 (Characterization) state when a RC Soldier successfully completes IADT the character of service is honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170007312 4 1