BOARD DATE: 30 April 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20190013400 APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show: * her rank as specialist (SPC)/E-4 * a separation date of July 1993 * the character of her service as honorable instead of uncharacterized APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States * DD Form 214 * medical statement from the University of Texas Medical Branch Family Planning Program, dated 26 January 1993 * memorandum, dated 4 April 1993, subject: Election of Options Regarding Pregnancy * Orders Number 086-009, dated 7 September 1993, issued by Headquarters (HQ), 90th U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Command FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three-year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code, 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 she was discharged in July 1993, in the rank of SPC/E-4, due to pregnancy. She was given the option when she was 8 months pregnant with her first child of staying in the Army or an honorable discharge due to pregnancy. She chose the honorable discharge. 3. The applicant enlisted in the USAR, in pay grade E-1, on 29 December 1989. 4. Orders issued on 2 January 1990 ordered the applicant to initial active duty for training (IADT) with a report date of 21 February 1990. 5. The applicant was released from IADT and transferred to her USAR unit on 26 June 1990. Her DD Form 214 for this period of active duty service shows she was released from active duty training, in pay grade E-1, under the authority of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations-Enlisted Personnel), paragraph 4-2 (Discharge or release from the active Army upon termination of enlistment and other periods of active duty or active duty for training), with a characterization of service of "uncharacterized," after completing 4 months and 6 days of active duty service. 6. A memorandum, dated 4 April 1993, subject: Election of Options Regarding Pregnancy, shows the applicant was given the option to remain in the service or elect separation due to pregnancy. She elected separation. 7. Orders Number 086-009, dated 7 September 1993, issued by HQ, 90th USAR Command, directed the applicant's reassignment from the 288th Field Service Company to the USAR Control Group (Annual Training) due to pregnancy. 8. A search of the applicant's record in the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS), failed to locate orders directing her discharge from the USAR or additional DD Forms 214. 9. There is no evidence in the applicant's available records indicating she performed 90 days or more of continuous active duty after her release from IADT on 26 June 1990. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents and evidence in the records. The Board considered the applicant’s statement, her record of service, her period of active duty, award of an MOS and return to her USAR unit of assignment, the date of her promotion, USAR reassignment orders and the absence of USAR discharge orders. The Board considered the policy specific to character of service for Reserve Component Soldiers upon successful completion of initial entry training. The Board found no evidence of the applicant’s promotion while on active duty and no additional periods of active duty sufficient to require completion of another DD Form 214. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that the applicant’s separation date and rank on her DD Form 214 were not in error or unjust, but that character of service should be amended as a matter of equity. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that partial relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF : X :X :X GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending the DD Form 214 for the period ending 26 June 1990 to reflect in item 24 (Character of Service) – “Honorable” vice “Uncharacterized.” 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to amending the applicant’s rank or separation date. 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, United States Code, 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 of the applicant's IADT, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It established standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It states the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active service. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. The regulation also states that a DD Form 214 will be prepared for all personnel at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty, including USAR personnel who are separated after completing 90 days or more of continuous active duty for training, full time duty training, or active duty support. 3. Army Regulation 635-200 states in paragraph 3-7a an honorable discharge is a separation with honor. 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. 4. Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents), dated 10 February 2014, and currently in effect, states in paragraph 5-6 (Rules for Completing the DD Form 214) that when a Reserve Component Soldier successfully completes IADT, the character of service is honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20190013400 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1