IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 7 October 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080011382 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that Permanent Orders Number 149-004, awarding him the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM), be removed from his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). 2. The applicant states that the ARCOM was upgraded to a Meritorious Service Medal (MSM). His current personnel office is submitting the MSM to his OMPF, and he would like the ARCOM removed from his OMPF. 3. The applicant provides an ARCOM award certificate and an MSM award certificate. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 12 February 1991. 2. Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, TX, Permanent Orders Number 149-004, dated 29 May 2007, awarded the applicant the ARCOM for meritorious service for the period 13 August 2004 to 20 June 2006. 3. Headquarters, Fort Carson, Permanent Order Number 267-06, dated 24 September 2007, awarded the applicant the MSM for meritorious service for the period 13 August 2004 to 20 June 2007. 4. Both the ARCOM award certificate and the MSM award certificate under consideration are filed in the applicant’s OMPF. 5. The 4th Infantry Division awards section at Fort Carson, CO, could not find orders revoking the applicant’s ARCOM, could not find a record that revocation orders had been issued, and could not determine if the revocation orders would have been revoked by Fort Carson or by Fort Hood. (The 4th Infantry Division is split-based with two maneuver brigades located at Fort Carson, CO, and the remainder of the division at Fort Hood, TX.) 6. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/ Records) sets forth the policies, operating tasks and steps for governing the OMPF; the Military Personnel Records Jacket; the Career Management Individual File; Army Personnel Qualification Records; and Military Personnel Information Management as a work category. Paragraph 2-4 of this regulation states that once a document is placed in the OMPF it becomes a permanent part of that file and will not be removed from that file or moved to another part of the file unless directed by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, the Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board, Army Appeals Board, Chief of Appeals and Corrections Branch of the Human Resources Command, the OMPF custodian when documents have been improperly filed, Human Resources Command as an exception, Chief of the Appeals Branch of the Army Reserve Personnel Center, and Chief of the Appeals Branch of the National Guard Personnel Center. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. Even though the dates of service for the ARCOM (13 August 2004 to 20 June 2006) and the MSM (13 August 2004 to 20 June 2007) under consideration are one year off, the period of the ARCOM is completely overlapped by the period for the MSM, and therefore the applicant’s explanation of why the two awards were issued and are in his OMPF is plausible. 2. Orders revoking the ARCOM cannot be located, and it cannot even be determined if they were revoked. However, they should have been revoked. 3. The regulatory guidance is to file award orders in the performance section of the OMPF. 4. Nevertheless, there is a viable reason for removing Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, TX, Permanent Orders Number 149-004, dated 29 May 2007, awarding the applicant the ARCOM for meritorious service for the period 13 August 2004 to 20 June 2006, from his OMPF. These orders offer no relevant information regarding his service, conduct, or duty performance. Moreover, removing them would eliminate the potential for confusion to officials authorized to review the performance section of the applicant’s OMPF. 5. Therefore, after first ensuring that Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, TX, Permanent Orders Number 149-004, dated 29 May 2007, is revoked, the order should be removed from the applicant’s OMPF. BOARD VOTE: ___XX_____ ____XX____ ____XX____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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: a. revoking Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, TX, Permanent Orders Number 149-004, dated 29 May 2007, awarding him the Army Commendation Medal; and b. removing Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, TX, Permanent Orders Number 149-004, dated 29 May 2007, awarding him the Army Commendation, from his OMPF (and ensuring that the orders revoking this award are not filed in his OMPF). _______ XXXXX_ _______ ___ 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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080011382 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080011382 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1