BOARD DATE: 31 January 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190007647 APPLICANT REQUESTS: The applicant requests her character of service be changed from uncharacterized to honorable. 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) FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the 3-year time frame provided in Title 10 (Armed Forces), United States Code (USC), section 1552 (b) (Correction of Military Records: Claims Incident Thereto). 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. On 13 March 1999, the applicant enlisted into the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) for 8 years. Her service record provides evidence showing she entered active duty to complete initial entry training (IET) from 26 March to 3 September 1999, and she was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 76J (Medical Supply Specialist). Her DD Form 214 reflects: * Item 23 (Type of Separation) – Relief from active duty for training (ADT) * Item 24 (Character of Service) – Uncharacterized * Item 25 (Separation Authority) – MEPS self-terminating order 057-22 * Item 26 (Separation Code) – NA * Item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) – Completion of period of ADT 3. At the time the applicant separated, regulatory guidance stated an uncharacterized character of service was given to separating Soldiers in an entry-level status; Soldiers remained in an entry-level status until they had completed more than 180 days of continuous active duty. However, the current separation regulation states Reserve Component (RC) Soldiers will receive an honorable character of service (unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority) after they have completed IET, been awarded an MOS, and the RC Soldier then reports for duty at a follow-on unit of assignment. BOARD DISCUSSION: The Board agreed that, although the applicant's period of active duty service that ended on 2 September 1999 was "uncharacterized" in accordance with the regulation in effect at the time, that policy has since been changed and, as a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to correct her DD Form 214 to show her service during this period 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 2 September 1999 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. 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 3 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 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 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. a. Provides a separation will be described as ELS with service uncharacterized when processing is initiated while a member is in an ELS status for RC members in the Army Reserve National Guard (ARNG) or United States Army Reserve (USAR). b. The DD Form 214 should show: •Type of Separation: Release from Active Duty •Character of Service: Honorable •Separation Authority: AR 635-200, Chapter 4 •Separation code: LBK •Narrative Reason for Separation: Expiration Term of Service 3. Army Regulation 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) AR20190007647 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007647 4 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190007647 3