BOARD DATE: 31 January 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190009418 APPLICANT REQUESTS: The applicant requests his uncharacterized character of service be changed to honorable. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Command (AR-PERSCOM) Orders D-01-300278, dated 7 January 2003 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 he would like the uncharacterized on his DD Form 214 to read honorable discharge as it does on his orders. He served his country willingly for conflict. Having an uncharacterized on his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) causes issues with employment possibilities and/or his benefits because many employers do not understand the uncharacterized character of service. 3. On 7 September 1994, the applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) for a term of 8 years. His record provides evidence that shows he entered active duty to complete training from 11 October 1994 to 16 March 1995 and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 91B10 (Medical Specialist). His DD Form 214 shows: * Type of Separation: Release from Active Duty Training * Character of Service: Uncharacterized * Separation Authority: MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) Self Terminating Order 173-004, dated 8 September 1994, Course 91B * Separation Code: NA (Not Applicable) * Narrative Reason for Separation: Completion of Period of ADT (Active Duty Training) 4. The applicant provides AR-PERCOM Orders D-01-3000278, which shows he was honorably discharged from the USAR, effective 7 January 2003. a. There is a common misunderstanding within the RC as to the types of orders received during their period of service that may transfer them from an active reserve status to the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR), discharge them from RC, or published upon completion of their military service obligation (MSO), being an authority for correcting service characterization on the DD Form 214 received upon completion of IADT or other active service. b. These orders are applicable only to his military service obligation (MSO) of 8 years. An MSO refers to the total required service (active duty and reserve commitment) that an individual must serve upon accepting an enlistment/appointment with a military service. 5. The available evidence shows the applicant was called to active duty for training, awarded an MOS, and served 163 days of active duty prior to being released and returned to his reserve unit of assignment. Although his DD Form 214 properly reflects his characterization of service as "uncharacterized" in accordance with regulatory guidance in effect at the time, effective 1 March 2014 regulatory guidance changed and provides entry level Soldiers who complete IADT and are awarded an MOS will be given an honorable discharge, unless other characterization is directed by the separation authority. BOARD DISCUSSION: The Board agreed that, although the applicant's period of active duty service that ended on 16 March 1995 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 his DD Form 214 to show his 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 his DD Form 214 for the period ending 16 March 1995 to show his 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. 4. Title 10, USC, section 651 (Members: Required Service) states each person who becomes a member of an armed force, other than a person deferred under the Military Selective Service Act, shall serve in the armed forces for a total initial period of not less than six and no more than eight years. Any part of such service that is not active duty or that is active duty for training shall be performed in a reserve component. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190009418 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190009418 4 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190009418 3