IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 9 December 2021 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20210012185 APPLICANT REQUESTS: the Board to change her uncharacterized service 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) * National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) 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. The applicant states, in effect, she enlisted into the Tennessee Army National Guard (TNARNG) and she completed her initial active duty for training (IADT) without committing any infractions; the Tennessee Army National Guard (TNARNG) subsequently awarded her an honorable discharge. Recently, while updating her driver's license so that it reflected her Veteran status, the applicant noticed her DD Form 214 had her character of service as uncharacterized; her State does not permit anyone with an uncharacterized character of service to show Veteran status on a driver's license. The applicant declares correcting her character of service is extremely important to her, and she believes what is listed on her DD Form 214 is wrong; she does not understand why it states "uncharacterized." 3. On 14 May 1992, the applicant enlisted in the TNARNG and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) for a term of 8 years. Her service record indicates, on 6 August 1992, she entered IADT to complete her initial entry training (IET). On 17 December 1992, and after the award of military occupational specialty (MOS) 76C (Equipment Records and Parts Specialist), the applicant was released from active duty with uncharacterized service and returned to her TNARNG unit. Her DD Form 214 shows she completed 4 months and 12 days of net active duty service. The form additionally shows the following: * Item 14 (Military Education) – Equipment Records and Parts Specialist Course, 10 weeks, completed in December 1992 * Item 25 (Separation Authority) – Army Regulation (AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel), paragraph 4-2 (Discharge or Release from Active Duty upon Termination of Enlistment, and Other Periods of Active Duty or Active Duty for Training) * Item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) – Expiration Term of Service 4. At the time the applicant completed IET, the governing regulation stated separating Soldiers in an entry-level status were required to receive an uncharacterized character of service. 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 their successful completion of IET, following the award of an MOS, and upon their release to an RC unit for duty. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found relief is warranted. 2. The evidence of record shows the applicant fulfilled the requirements of the current regulation, and, were she undergoing IET today, she would receive an honorable character of service. Based on current regulatory guidance, the Board determined it would be appropriate to change her character of service to honorable in the interest of equity. 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 17 December 1992 to show her character of service 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 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. AR 635-200, in effect at the time, prescribed policies and procedures for enlisted administrative separation. a. The regulation stated, except under specific circumstances, a separation was described as an entry-level separation with service uncharacterized if processing was initiated while a Soldier is in entry-level status. For ARNG and USAR Soldiers, entry level status began upon enlistment, and terminated either on the completion of one continuous period of 180 days (counting from the start of training), or, for Soldiers ordered to IADT for the split or alternate training option, 90 days after beginning Phase II (advanced individual training). (Soldiers completing Phase I (BCT) remain in entry- level status until 90 days after beginning Phase II (AIT). b. Paragraph 4-2 (Discharge or Release from Active Duty upon Termination of Enlistment, and Other Periods of Active Duty or Active Duty for Training) stated, ARNG and USAR Solders who successfully completed initial active duty for training were to be out-processed and returned to their respective RC units. Separation authorities were to issue Soldier in an entry-level status an uncharacterized character of service. 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 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 IADT, the character of service is Honorable unless directed otherwise by the separation approval authority. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20210012185 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEDING 1