IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 18 December 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080014955 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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his acquisition status as reflected in Section X (Remarks) of his Officer Record Brief (ORB). 2. The applicant states that his DD Form 214 does not reflect his acquisition experience or status at the time of his retirement. He states the Defense Acquisition University Program Management Course (20 weeks) is only reflected for acquisition purposes. At the time of his retirement, this information was not as critical as it is in the Department of Defense acquisition environment today. He further states that the DD Form 214 is currently used as the primary document reflecting service member's past experience, training, and certification that Civilian Personnel Center Specialists use to validate service member's credentials. 3. The applicant provides a copy of his Officer Record Brief, dated 25 August 1994. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, 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 Army Board for Correction of Military Records (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. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant was appointed as a Reserve second lieutenant on 8 June 1977 with a concurrent call to active duty. He continued to serve on active duty until he was retired on 31 October 1995 in the rank of major. 3. Item 14 (Military Education) on his DD Form 214 shows he completed the Program Management Course in April 1989. 4. The Remarks section on the applicant's ORB, dated 25 August 1994, shows the following entries: FIELD LEVEL DATE A Program Management 3 9308 S Research and Development 2 9308 T Test and Evaluation 3 9308 5. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. It states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. In pertinent part, it states that item 18 (Remarks) is used for entries required by Headquarters Department of the Army for which a separate block is not available and for completing entries that are too long for their blocks. This regulation does not provide guidance for acquisition status to be entered in item 18 of the DD Form 214. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. There is no regulatory provision in Army Regulation 635-5 to record acquisition status on the applicant's DD Form 214. The DD Form 214 is meant only to be a snapshot in time of a Soldier’s service at time of separation. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive record of the Soldier’s entire assignment history. 2. Therefore, there is no basis for amending the applicant's DD Form 214 to reflect his acquisition status. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____X____ ____X____ ____X____ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _______ _XXX _______ ___ 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) AR20080014955 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080014955 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1