IN THE CASE OF: 

BOARD DATE:  12 November 2019

DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20190005563


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  The applicant requests her uncharacterized character of 
service be changed to honorable or general under honorable conditions.

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

*	DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)
*	DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) for period 
ending 7 December 1991

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 she is currently a Department of the Army Civilian and she is 
trying to buy back her military time.  Her DD Form 214 must read either "Honorable" or 
"Under Honorable Conditions" in order for the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center to 
accept the DD Form 214.

3.  On 25 March 1991, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) for a 
term of 8 years.  Her record provides evidence that shows she entered active duty to 
complete training from 6 August 1991 to 7 December 1991 and was awarded military 
occupational specialty (MOS) 71L (Administrative Specialist).  Her DD Form 214 shows:

*	Type of Separation:  Release from Active Duty Training
*	Character of Service:  Uncharacterized
*	Separation Authority:  Army Regulation (AR) 635-200, Chapter 4
*	Separation Code:  LBK
*	Narrative Reason for Separation:  Expiration Term of Service

4.  Regulatory guidance, in effect at the time she was separated, stated 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 Soldiers completing active duty that results in the 
award of an MOS, even when the active duty period was less than 90 days, 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 
1991, policy required that her service be uncharacterized.  Policy has since changed, 
and the Board agreed that, as a matter of equity, the applicant's DD Form 214 for the 
period ending 7 December 1991 should be corrected to show her 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 her DD Form 
214 for the period ending 7 December 1991 to show her 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 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 (AR) 635-200 states a separation will be described as an entry 
level separation with service uncharacterized if processing is initiated while a Soldier is 
in entry level status, except under specific circumstances.  For Army National Guard 
(ARNG) and USAR Soldiers, entry level status begins upon enlistment in the Army 
National Guard or U.S. Army Reserve and terminates for Soldiers ordered to IADT for 
one continuous period-180 days after beginning training or Soldiers ordered to IADT for 
the split or alternate training option-90 days after beginning Phase II (advanced 
individual training). (Soldiers completing Phase I (basic training or basic combat 
training) remain in entry level status until 90 days after beginning Phase II.  

3.  AR 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents), currently in effect, prescribes the 
transition processing function of the military personnel system.  It states a DD Form 214 
will be prepared for Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers awarded an MOS even if active 
duty is less than 90 days.  RC Soldiers completing active duty that results in the award 
of a military occupational specialty (MOS), even when the active duty period was less 
than 90 days (for example, completion of the advanced individual training component of 
the Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS) Alternate Training Program or 
USAR Split Training Program).  When a RC Soldier successfully completes initial active 
duty training the character of service is Honorable unless directed otherwise by the 
separation approval authority.  

//NOTHING FOLLOWS//
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20190005563
2

ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20190005563
4
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	AR20190005563


3