ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 7 January 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170009979 APPLICANT REQUESTS: 1. Correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), 4 October 1972, to reflect: * his middle name as X__X * the fifth character of his military occupational specialty (MOS) in item 23a from "P" to "V" to reflect “11B4V, Lt. Wpns Inf'” 2. Correction of his DD Form 214, 5 October 1975, to reflect: * his surname as X__XX and middle name as X__X * the fifth character of his MOS in item 17a from "O" to "V" to reflect “11B4V” * if an error, the correct date on box 17a if it should reflect last award of Ranger Tab on 72/06/01 APPLICANT’S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * self-authored letter * DD Form 214, 4 October 1972 * DD Form 214, 3 October 1975 * National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) letter * DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), 11 March 2002 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552 (b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records 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 the spelling of his surname and middle name on his final DD Form 214 and his middle name on his first DD Form 214 are misspelled. His MOS in item 23a of his first DD Form 214 and item 17a of his final DD Form 214 should reflect a "V" in the fifth character to reflect Ranger qualification. The date in item 17a may need to be changed from 3 March 1972 to 1 June 1972 when he graduated Ranger course. 3. He further states, though the errors were unintentional, they reflect incorrect data regarding his qualifications. He tried to get part of it corrected by the NPRC but forgot to address the items other than his last name and middle name. He doesn't recall being advised upon discharge that if he found errors there was a time limit to address them. He feels strongly the errors need to be corrected to reflect his military career correctly. He is proud of his time in the Army and what he accomplished, and he asks the Board to read his attached letter for a more detailed explanation and a better understanding of his feelings on the matter 4. The applicant provides a self-authored letter, which is a more in depth request. He states: a. Though the errors he wants corrected are not extreme, they are errors and it is important to him to have them corrected. He regrets not bringing the errors to the Board's attention long ago. He provided copies of his DD Forms 214, previous corrections from NPRC and a DD Form 214 correcting his surname for his first DD Form 214. b. He doesn't recall when he noticed or became concerned about the errors. He would have addressed the errors earlier if he had known the importance of them. He recently retired as a federal employee with the U.S. Department of Transportation- Federal Aviation Administration where he was concerned on a daily basis about correct and factual records. c. He served with honor and pride, and he did his duty and accomplished some of the toughest training the Army had to offer at a time when it wasn't popular to volunteer for the Army. He always knew he would because his dad and three uncles served in the Army during World War II, and it was almost a given that he would serve. d. He contacted NPRC in 2002 to request a correction be made to the spelling of his surname which was corrected on a DD Form 215. His surname is correctly spelled on his first DD Form 214. He can't recall if he addressed the spelling of his middle name with NPRC and he cannot find his request. He asks these errors be corrected regardless of the time that has elapsed since he was discharged. The applicant summarize his requests and justification: * correct spelling of his middle name is without an “e” * both DD Form 214s reflect 11B4V; he had special qualification “V” for Airborne Ranger and “P” is only for Parachutist Qualified; he graduated Ranger course on/about 2 June 1972, Class 12-72 and he has a copy of SO 113, dated: 31 May 1972 awarding Ranger Tab & Special Qualification Digit "V" with an effective date: 1 Jun 72 * correct spelling of his last name has an “X” and not an “X” * As for the date of 72/03/03, this may or may not be in error. Depending on what it is meant to be referring too. Correct if it's the awarding of my primary MOS 11B, but if the date is to reflect the last qualification course he attended and qualified, that would be Ranger course, dated 72/06/01 e. He's grateful for the opportunity to have served in the U.S. Army, and earning the Ranger Tab was one of his proudest moments in his life. Having served has been one of the best things he's ever done in his life and has added to the success in his life. He retired from federal service with a total of 31 years including his military time, but the proudest was when he was in the U.S. Army and being assigned to the Ranger Company. He hopes the Board feels his request is reasonable and warranted 4. A review of the applicant's service records show his middle name as both X__X and X__X throughout; however, his original DD Form 4 (Enlistment Contract - Armed Forces of the United States) shows his middle name without the "X" on the end. The applicant signs his middle name consistently without the "X" on the end throughout his service record. 5. His DD Form 215 corrects his surname in his DD Form 214, 5 October 1975 from X__on to X__XX. It does not correct his middle name from X__x to X__X. 6. Both of the DD Forms 214 indicate the applicant is authorized the Parachute Badge and the Ranger Tab. Army Regulation 611-201 (Enlisted Career Management Fields and Military Occupational Specialties), in effect at the time, states the fifth character of a MOS is a letter or number which identifies special qualifications. Character "V" is used to identify positions requiring assignment of personnel who are ranger and parachute qualified. 7. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, enter primary occupational military specialty code number and title, and date it was awarded. The date in item 17a accompanying his MOS indicates the date that he was awarded his MOS. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting evidence, the Board determined that relief was warranted. Because there are some documents which reflect the spelling of his name as requested, the Board found enough credible evidence to support granting that portion of the request. Additionally, because evidence supports that the applicant attended and graduated from both airborne training and Ranger School, the Board determined that changing the MOS on the DD214 was warranted by the evidence provided. BOARD VOTE: Member 1 Member 2 Member 3 :X X X Full Grant : : : Partial Grant : : : Formal Hearing Grant : : : Deny 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 a) deleting from his DD Form 214, 4 October 1972 XXXXX, XXXXX XXXXX adding XXXXX, XXXXX XXXXX deleting from item 23a "P", the fifth character in his MOS adding "V" to the fifth character of his MOS b) deleting from his DD Form 214, 5 October 1975 XXXXX, XXXXX XXXXX adding XXXXX, XXXXX XXXXX deleting from item 17a "P", the fifth character in his MOS adding "V" to the fifth character of his MOS ___________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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): NA REFERENCES: 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. 2. Army Regulation 611-201 (Enlisted Career Management Fields and Military Occupational Specialties), in effect at the time, states the enlisted military occupational specialty (MOS) code consists of nine characters. The element of the MOS code are: * the first three characters are comprised of two numbers and one letter, which identify the MOS without regard to level of skill * the fourth character is a number from zero to five which indicates the skill level within the MOS; skill level 1 identifies E3 and E4 positions; skill level 2 identifies E5 positions; skill level 3 identifies E6 positions; skill level 4 identifies E7 positions; skill level 5 identifies E8 and E9 positions * the fifth character is a letter or number which identifies special qualifications; character "V" is used to identify positions requiring assignment of personnel who are ranger and parachute qualified * the sixth and seventh character are comprised of a letter and number or a number and letter to be added to the five character code to identify highly specialized skills * the eighth and ninth characters consists of two letters and is the language identification code 3. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214, which provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge. It states for item 23a, enter primary occupational military specialty code number and title, and date of award. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170009979 2