IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 17 January 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190011507 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 12 May 1999, 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 30 July 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 enlisted in the North Dakota Army National Guard (NDARNG) on 7 July 1989. She was ordered to active duty for training (ADT) effective 4 January 1999. 3. Orders 092-00271, issued by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee, Fort Lee, Virginia on 2 April 1999, awarded the applicant military occupational specialty (MOS) 92Y (Unit Supply Specialist), effective 12 May 1999. 4. The applicant was released from active duty (REFRAD) on 12 May 1999, upon completion of her required service, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), Chapter 4. Her DD Form 214 shows she completed four months and nine days of net active service this period and was returned to the control of her NDARNG unit of assignment to complete her ARNG Service obligation. Her DD Form 214 confirms her service was uncharacterized. 5. Regulatory guidance in effect at the time he 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 U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Split Training Program), will receive a character of service of honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. 6. The available evidence shows the applicant was called to active duty for training and awarded an MOS. BOARD DISCUSSION: The Board noted that the applicant successfully completed MOS training in 1999 and was released from active duty to return to her NDARNG unit. Under current regulatory guidance, her service would have been characterized as honorable. Based on a preponderance of the evidence, the Board determined that, as a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant's DD Form 214 to show her active duty service for completion of initial entry training was characterized as 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 12 May 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. 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 will be prepared for the personnel listed below at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from the Active Army. Personnel included are members of the ARNGUS and USAR separated after completing 90 days or more of continuous ADT, and those separated after completing initial active duty for training 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 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 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) AR20190011507 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190011507 4 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190011507 3