IN THE CASE OF:  BOARD DATE:  19 March 2020 DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20190015066 


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  Correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 23 August 1989, 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 Provisionsof Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552), dated 10 September 2019

.DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge or Dismissal from theArmed Forces of the United States), dated 10 September 2019

.DD Form 214, for the period ending 23 August 1989

.DD Form 256A (Honorable Discharge Certificate), dated 11 March 1997



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 MilitaryRecords (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is inthe interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.

2.The applicant states, in effect, she is a federal employee who is attempting to makea military deposit so her basic training and advanced individual training (AIT) time willbe included in her Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) calculation.  She wasinformed by her Human Resources (HR) department that they cannot accept her currentDD Form 214, because it shows her service was uncharacterized.  They also will notaccept the DD Form 256A she received after completing her U.S. Army Reserve(USAR) enlistment.  She was told her DD Form 214 reflected uncharacterized becauseshe left initial entry training and went right into the USAR.

3.The applicant enlisted in the USAR on 13 January 1989.  She entered active duty fortraining (ADT) on 20 April 1989, for the purpose of completing initial entry training.  Herrecord indicates she completed her initial entry training on 23 August 1989, wasawarded a military occupational specialty (MOS), and was released from active dutyand returned to the control of the USAR.

4.The applicant was released from active duty (REFRAD) on 23 August 1989, underthe provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – EnlistedPersonnel), Chapter 4, upon the completion of her initial entry training.  TheDD Form 214 she was issued shows she completed four months and four days of netactive service this period, with three months and seven days of total prior inactiveservice.  She was awarded the MOS 75E (Personnel Actions Specialist), her characterof service was "Uncharacterized," and the narrative reason for separation was"Expiration Term of Service."

5.Orders Number D-03-719737, issued by the USAR Personnel Center (ARPERCEN),St. Louis, MO on 11 March 1997, honorably discharged the applicant from the USAReffective 11 March 1997.

6.With respect to the applicant's request for a change in characterization:

a.Regulatory guidance in effect at the time she was separated provided that anuncharacterized 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 Army National Guard of the U.S. (ARNGUS) Alternate Training Program or USAR Split Training Program), will receive a character of service of honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. 

b.The available evidence shows the applicant completed a period of ADT and wasawarded an MOS.  Although her DD Form 214 properly reflects her characterization of service as entry level status in accordance with regulatory guidance in effect at the time, based on current guidance and in the interest of equity, the characterization of service should read honorable. 

BOARD DISCUSSION: 

After review of the application and all evidence, the Board determined there is sufficient evidence to grant relief.  The Board found evidence of an error in the applicant’s DD Form 214 ending 23 August 1989.  Regulatory guidance indicates that USAR and ARNG Soldiers are granted an honorable discharge if they complete their active duty training, receive an MOS and are returned to their units.  This is the applicant’s case.  Therefore, the Board agreed that the applicant’s discharge should be upgraded to “honorable” for this term of service. 


BOARD VOTE: 

Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 

:XX :XX :XX 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 amending the applicant’s discharge characterization on her DD Form 214 to “Honorable.” 


X CHAIRPERSON


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 militaryrecords 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 timelyfile within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be inthe interest of justice to do so.
2.Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed theseparation documents that were prepared for individuals upon retirement, discharge, orrelease from active military service or control of the Army.  It established standardizedpolicy for preparing and distributing DD Form 214.  Paragraph 1-4 provided that aDD Form 214 will be prepared for the personnel listed below at the time of theirretirement, 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 RC Soldiers completing active duty that results in the award of an 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. 
 
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