IN THE CASE OF BOARD DATE: 21 August 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190007630 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) for the period ending 19 March 1999 to show she was honorably discharged. 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 5 May 2019 * Social Security Card * Applicant Medical Prescreening Form, undated * Report of Medical History, dated 23 July 1998 * DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States, dated 17 September 1998 * DA Form 4707-C (Entrance Physical Standards Board (EPSBD) Proceedings), dated 11 March 1999 * Narrative Summary, dated 13 March 1999 * Medical Records, dated 15 March 1999 * Orders 076-0366, dated 17 March 1999 * DD Form 214, for the period ending 19 March 1999 * 10-pages of medical documents, dated between March 1999 and May 2018 * three Certificates of Attendance, dated between April and July 2003 * three Employee Performance Reviews, dated 27 February 2012, 5 May 2015, and 22 March 2016 * Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 27-0820 (Report of General Information), dated 4 April 2014 * VA Decision letter, dated 4 April 2019 * Character Reference Letter, dated 5 April 2019 * Self-Authored Statement, dated 17 April 2019 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: a. She was discharged due to a misdiagnosis. She would like her discharge upgraded because she was informed upon leaving that it would be honorable. She checked with the Reserve unit soon after and was told that her discharge was honorable. b. She was diagnosed with a miscarriage due to pregnancy; however, once discharged from the hospital she was unable to resume her normal profile. Upon requesting additional medical attention due to debilitating pain she requested to leave. Once she arrived back to her home State and was examined, it was determined that she had an ectopic pregnancy and needed emergency surgery. She has been very fearful of doctors since that day and her life has changed forever. Her drive to serve in the military allowed her to seek a replacement career. 3. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 17 September 1998. She entered active duty for training (ADT) on 25 February 1999 for the purpose of completing her initial entry training. 4. The applicant provides a DA Form 4707-C, dated 2 March 1999, that shows an EPSBD recommended the applicant should be suspended from training and discharged from the Army due to her early pregnancy. The findings of the EPSBD were approved on 11 March 1999. She was to continue receiving her health care at the obstetrics clinic until she left the Army installation. 5. The applicant also provides a Narrative Summary that shows she had been admitted to the installation hospital on 13 March 1999 and was discharged from the hospital on 16 March 1999. She was having mild bleeding at the time of admission and was assessed as having a high chance of a miscarriage. Her medical board was expedited so she could return home as soon as possible. 6. She was discharged from the Army on 19 March 1999. The DD Form 214 she was issued shows she was discharged under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), paragraph 5-11, by reason of failure to meet procurement medical fitness standards. She was credited with completing 25 days of net active service and was not awarded a military occupational specialty. Her service was uncharacterized. 7. Soldiers are considered to be in an entry-level status when they are within their first 180 days of active duty service. The evidence of record shows the applicant was in an entry-level status at the time of her separation processing. As a result, her service was appropriately described as "uncharacterized" in accordance with governing regulations. 8. The applicant provides numerous documents to include a character reference letter attesting to her work ethic and desire to serve. Among those documents is a private sector Surgical Pathology Department pathology report completed on 25 March 1999 that shows the applicant had had an ectopic pregnancy. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board noted the available records show the applicant was pregnant when she entered active duty for training, and an EPSBD recommended she should be suspended from training and discharged due to her condition. The findings of the EPSBD were approved and she was discharged soon after under the appropriate regulatory authority. 2. The Board further noted the applicant was in an entry-level status at the time of her discharge, and the governing regulation required that her service be uncharacterized, as is shown on her DD Form 214. The Board found insufficient evidence of mitigating factors that would support a recommendation for relief in this case. The Board determined the applicant's uncharacterized service is not in error or unjust. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : 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. 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 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. a. Chapter 3 provides that a separation will be described as entry level with uncharacterized service if the Soldier has less than 180 days of continuous active duty service at the time separation action is initiated. b. 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 or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate. c. Paragraph 3-9, in effect at the time of the applicant's separation, provided that a separation would be described as entry level with uncharacterized service if processing was initiated while a Soldier was in an entry-level status, except when: (1) a discharge under other than honorable conditions was authorized, due to the reason for separation and was warranted by the circumstances of the case; or (2) the Secretary of the Army, on a case-by-case basis, determined a characterization of service as honorable was clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty. This characterization was authorized when the Soldier was separated by reason of selected changes in service obligation, for convenience of the government, and under Secretarial plenary authority. d. Paragraph 5-11 provided that Soldiers who were not medically qualified under procurement medical fitness standards when accepted for enlistment or who became medically disqualified under these standards prior to entrance on active duty, active duty for training, or initial entry training would be separated. Medical proceedings, regardless of the date completed, must establish that a medical condition was identified by appropriate medical authority within 6 months of the Soldier's initial entrance on active duty, that the condition would have permanently or temporarily disqualified the Soldier for entry into military service had it been detected at that time, and the medical condition did not disqualify the Soldier from retention in the service under the provisions of Army Regulation 40-501(Standards of Medical Fitness). e. The character of service for Soldiers separated under this provision would normally be honorable, but would be uncharacterized if the Soldier was in an entry-level status. An uncharacterized discharge is neither favorable nor unfavorable; in the case of Soldiers issued this characterization of service, an insufficient amount of time would have passed to evaluate the Soldier's conduct and performance. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007630 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007630 5 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007630 4