ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF:   BOARD DATE:  10 October 2019 DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20190002248 


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  Correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 10 September 1992, to show his service was characterized as honorable. 

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

.DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record Under the Provisionsof Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552), dated 13 November 2018

.DD Form 214, for the period ending 10 September 1992



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 MilitaryRecords (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is inthe interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.

2.The applicant states, in effect, he is a federal employee and he was given theopportunity to buy back his active duty time.  He was medically retired in April 2018;however, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will not count this time becausehis DD Form 214 shows his service was uncharacterized.  They want it to show hisservice was honorable.

3.The applicant enlisted in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG) on24 February 1992.  He entered active duty for training (ADT) on 23 March 1992, for thepurpose of completing his initial entry training.  His records indicate he completed hisinitial entry training on 10 September 1992 and was awarded military occupationalspecialty (MOS) 31K (Combat Signaler).

4.The applicant was released from active duty on 10 September 1992, under theprovisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel),Chapter 4.  The DD Form 214 he was issued shows the following in:

.Item 23 (Type of Separation), the entry "Release from Active Duty Training"


.Item 24 (Character of Service), the entry "Uncharacterized"

.Item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation), the entry "Expiration Term of Service"



5.Orders Number 137-1010, issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, AdjutantGeneral, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs on 17 May 2018, honorablydischarged the applicant from the PAARNG effective 1 Match 2018, and directed thathe be placed on the Permanent Disability Retired List.

6.With respect to the applicant's request:

a.Soldiers are considered to be in an entry-level status when they are within theirfirst 180 days of active duty service.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was in an entry-level status at the time of his release from ADT. 

b.An uncharacterized separation is an entry-level separation; for Soldiers orderedto initial ADT, entry-level status terminates 180 days after beginning training.  However, current guidance states Reserve Component 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 ARNG Alternate Training Program or U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Split Training Program) will receive a character of service of Honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. 

c.The available evidence shows the applicant was called to active duty for trainingand awarded an MOS.  Although his DD Form 214 properly reflects his characterization of service as "uncharacterized" in accordance with regulatory guidance in effect at the time, based on current guidance and in the interest of equity the characterization of service should read honorable. 

BOARD DISCUSSION: 

1.It is noted that under the current provisions of Army Regulation 635-8 (SeparationProcessing and Documents) Reserve Component Soldiers who complete initial activeduty (IADT) for training that results in award of an MOS will be issued a DD Form 214with a character of service as Honorable rather than Uncharacterized.

2.The applicant completed his IADT with award of an MOS and under currentstandards is therefore entitled to an Honorable discharge.

BOARD VOTE: 

Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 

:XXX :XX :XXX 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 showing the character of service as Honorable on his DD Form 214 for the period 23 March 1992 through  
10 September 1992. 


X 


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 militaryrecords 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 timelyfile within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be inthe interest of justice to do so.
2.Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed theseparation 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 will 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 (IADT) 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 ReserveComponent (RC) Solders 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 ARNGUS Alternate Training Program or USAR Split Training Program). 

b.Paragraph 5-6x(1) states:  "When a RC Soldier successfully completes initialactive duty training the character of service is Honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority." 

4.Army Regulation 635-200, in effect at the time, set forth the basic authority for theseparation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 3 described the different characterizations ofservice.

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 thata 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 (emphasis added), except in the following circumstances: 

(1)when characterization of under other than honorable conditions is authorizedunder 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 anhonorable 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 theARNG 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 (Personnel Separations – Active Duty EnlistedAdministrative Separations), effective 19 January 2004, set forth the basic authority forthe separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 3 describes the differentcharacterizations of service.  Paragraph 3-9a (Entry-level-status separation) providesthat a separation will be described as entry-level, with service uncharacterized, ifprocessing is initiated while a Soldier is in entry-level status, except when:

a.characterization under other than honorable conditions is authorized under thereason 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 Honorablecharacterization 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, hascompleted Initial Entry Training, has been awarded an MOS, and has reported for duty at a follow-on unit of assignment (emphasis added). 

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