BOARD DATE: 8 November 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190007111 APPLICANT REQUESTS: in effect, correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 30 January 2003, to show her 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 1 May 2019 * Relief from Active Duty Memorandum, dated 29 January 2003 * DA Form 2173 (Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status), dated 9 July 2004 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, in effect, she was given an uncharacterized discharge. Item 28 on her current DD Form 214 shows her narrative reason for separation as "Completion of Required Active Service." She was sent home because she suffered a service-connected injury, for which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded her a disability rating. Because of her injury, her unit never sent her back to Fort Lee. 3. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 23 May 2002. She entered active duty for training (ADT) on 10 September 2002, for the purpose of completing her initial entry training. Her record indicates she completed her initial entry training on 30 January 2003; however, she was not awarded a military occupational specialty (MOS) because she did not pass the End of Cycle Army Physical Fitness Test (EOC APFT). 4. The applicant was released from active duty (REFRAD) on 30 January 2003, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), Chapter 4, upon the completion of her initial entry training. The DD Form 214, she was issued shows she complete four months and 21 days of net active service this period, she was not awarded a MOS, her service was uncharacterized, and the narrative reason for separation was "Completion of Required Active Service." 5. The applicant was returned to the control of her USAR unit, with instructions to return to Fort Lee, VA to take the EOC APFT within seven months of her departure from Fort Lee, VA, or her MOS completion would not be honored. Her record shows she did not return to Fort Lee to complete her EOC APFT. 6. Regulatory guidance in effect at the time she was separated provided that an uncharacterized separation was an entry-level separation; for Soldiers ordered to initial ADT, entry-level status terminated 180 days after beginning training. However, current guidance provides that Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers completing active duty that results in the award of an MOS, even when the active duty period is less than 90 days (for example, completion of the advanced individual training component of ARNG of the U.S. (ARNGUS) Alternate Training Program or USAR Split Training Program), will receive a character of service of honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. 7. Orders 06-278-00034, issued by Headquarters, 88th Regional Readiness Command, Fort Snelling, MN on 5 October 2006, discharged the applicant from the USAR effective 3 November 2006. These orders show her service was uncharacterized. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. Pertaining to the applicant’s request for an honorable discharge, there is insufficient evidence to grant relief. The governing regulation provides that a separation will be described as an entry-level separation, with service uncharacterized, if the separation action is initiated while a Soldier is in entry-level status. The applicant was called to ADT but was not awarded an MOS. Therefore, her DD Form 214 properly reflects her characterization of service as uncharacterized. 2. An uncharacterized discharge is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier’s military service. It merely means the Soldier has not been in the Army long enough for his or her character of service to be rated as honorable or otherwise. As a result, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : X :X :X DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 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): Not Applicable 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 personnel 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 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 (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 initial active 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 the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 3 described 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 (Personnel Separations – Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations), effective 19 January 2004, set forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 3 describes the different characterizations of service. Paragraph 3-9a (Entry-level-status separation) 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) AR20190007111 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007111 5 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007111 3