ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 15 August 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170012003 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show “Honorable” in item 13a (Character of Service). APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 214 * U.S. Army Reserve Honorable Discharge Certificate 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 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 received an honorable discharge but his DD Form 214 does not reflect his honorable characterization of service. 3. Review of the applicant’s service records shows: a. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 15 May 1964 for 6 years. b. He was ordered to active duty for training (ACDUTRA) on 6 September 1964. He completed training for award of military occupational specialty 910.00 (Medical Corpsman). c. He was released from ACDUTRA on 15 February 1965 in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 635-205 (Discharge and Release for the Convenience of the Government) to the control of his USAR unit. His DD Form 214 shows: * he was assigned Separation Program Number 764 * he completed 5 months and 10 days of active service * Block 3a (Character of Service) is blank. d. He was ultimately honorably discharged from the USAR on 20 June 1970 at the completion of his service obligations. He was issued an Honorable Discharge Certificate. 5. By regulation (AR 635-205), in effect at the time, paragraph 2 of this regulation provided that the separation of enlisted personnel for the convenience of the government and the type of discharge were the prerogative of the Secretary of the Army and would be effected only by his authority. 6. By regulation (AR 635-200), currently in effect, the Army considers a separation an entry-level separation if processing is initiated while a member is in an entry-level status. During the first 180 days of continuous active military service, a member's service is under review. a. When separated within the first 180 days, service is usually not characterized unless the circumstances of the separation warrant an under other-than-honorable conditions discharge. A general discharge is not authorized. b. The entry-level separation is given regardless of the reason for separation. An uncharacterized discharge is neither positive nor negative; it is not "derogatory." An uncharacterized character of service is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier’s military service. It merely means that the Soldier has not been in the Army long enough for his or her character of service to be rated as honorable or otherwise. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, to include the DoD guidance on liberal consideration when reviewing discharge upgrade requests, the Board determined that relief was warranted. Based upon a documentary review of the applicant’s military record, the Board concluded that the applicant 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 USAR. 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. 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 reissuing the applicant a DD Form 214 showing his characterization of service as Honorable. 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 Army Board for Correction of Military Records (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 635-205, in effect at the time, set forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel for the convenience of the government. Paragraph 2 of this regulation provided that the separation of enlisted personnel for the convenience of the government and the type of discharge were the prerogative of the Secretary of the Army and would be effected only by his authority. Paragraph 2 also listed the various categories for each type of discharge or release from active military service and the appropriate SPN code. SPN codes, in effect at the time, were issued to all discharging military personnel. These codes were placed on the DD Form 214 and provided a summary and characterization of the veteran's military service. These codes were intended solely for use by military recruiters for enlistment/reenlistment review and the Department of Defense for statistical analysis. 3. Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations - Administrative Separation Procedures and Forms), appendix I, listed all SPNs used at the time. An SPN of 764 indicated completion of term of service. 4. Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations), paragraph 3-7a, provides that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law. The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel (emphasis added) or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170012003 3 1