IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 17 December 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180004447 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 22 April 1995, to show his initial active duty training (IADT) service was characterized as honorable. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record Under the Provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552), dated 24 May 2019 * U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) discharge orders, effective 24 September 2002 * DD Form 256A (Honorable Discharge Certificate) FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, U.S. 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 would like his DD Form 214 corrected to show his service was honorable due to changes in the regulation for this type of separation from active duty. 3. The applicant enlisted in the USAR on 14 September 1994. He entered active duty on 5 January 1995, for the purpose of completing his initial active duty for training (IADT). He completed his period of IADT on 22 April 1995, at which time he was awarded military occupational skill (MOS) 71L (Administrative Specialist) and was released from active duty and returned to his follow-on unit of assignment. His DD Form 214 shows: * type of discharge ? Release from active duty training * character of service ? uncharacterized * narrative reason for separation ? Completion of required active service 4. The applicant was honorably discharged from the USAR on 24 September 2002. 5. An uncharacterized separation is an entry-level separation; for Soldiers ordered to initial ADT, entry-level status terminates 180 days after beginning training. However, current guidance states Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers completing active duty that results in the award of an MOS, even when the active duty period was less than 90 days (for example, completion of the advanced individual training component of Army National Guard (ARNG) Alternate Training Program or USAR Split Training Program) will receive a character of service of Honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. BOARD DISCUSSION: When the applicant was released from active duty after completing MOS training in 1995, policy required that his service be characterized as entry level. Policy has since changed, and the Board agreed that, as a matter of equity, the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 22 April 1995 should be corrected to show his service was 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 his DD Form 214 for the period ending 22 April 1995 to show his service was characterized 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 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, prescribed the separation documents that were prepared for individuals upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It established standardized policy for preparing and distributing DD Form 214. Paragraph 1-4 provided that a DD Form 214 would be prepared for the personnel listed below at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from the Active Army. Personnel included were members of the ARNG of the U.S. (ARNGUS) and USAR separated after completing 90 days or more of continuous ADT, and those separated after completing initial active duty for training that resulted in the award of an MOS, even though the active duty was less than 90 days. 3. Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents), currently in effect, prescribes policy and procedural guidance relating to transition management. Specifically, it references instruction related to the preparation of the DD Form 214. a. Paragraph 5-1f states that a DD Form 214 will be prepared for Reserve Component (RC) Solders completing active duty that results in the award of an MOS, even when the active duty period was less than 90 days. b. Paragraph 5-6x(1) states: "When a RC Soldier successfully completes initial active duty training the character of service is Honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority." 4. Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel) sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 3 describes the different characterizations of service. a. Paragraph 3-7a states that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor. The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the Soldier's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. Only the honorable characterization may be awarded a Soldier upon completion of his/her period of enlistment or period for which called or ordered to active duty or active duty for training, or where required under specific reasons for separation, unless an entry-level status separation (uncharacterized) is warranted. b. Paragraph 3-9, of the regulation in effect at the time of his separation, stated that a separation would be described as an entry-level separation with service uncharacterized if processing is initiated while a Soldier is in an entry-level status, except in the following circumstances: (1) when characterization of under other than honorable conditions is authorized under the reason for separation and is warranted by the circumstances of the case or (2) when the Secretary of the Army, on a case-by-case basis, determines that an honorable characterization of service is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. c. Section II (Terms) of the glossary states that entry-level status for Soldiers in the ARNG and USAR begins upon enlistment in the ARNG or USAR and, for those Soldiers ordered to IADT for one continuous period, terminates 180 days after the commencement of IADT. 5. Army Regulation 635-200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations), effective 19 January 2004, sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. Paragraph 3-9a provides that a separation will be described as entry-level, with service uncharacterized, if processing is initiated while a Soldier is in entry-level status, except when: a. characterization under other than honorable conditions is authorized under the reason for separation and is warranted by the circumstances of the case; b. the Secretary of the Army, on a case-by-case basis, determines that a Honorable characterization of service is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty; or c. the Soldier has less than 181 days of continuous active military service, has completed Initial Entry Training, has been awarded an MOS, and has reported for duty at a follow-on unit of assignment. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180004447 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1