IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 12 November 2008 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080016002 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 reconsideration of his previous application to correct his discharge documents to show the dates of his service during Operation Desert Storm Desert Shield. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that the dates used in the previous decisional document do not represent his total period of service during the First Gulf War. The dates on his Bronze Star Medal certificate are for the award period not the entire period of deployment. Although the official dates of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm are 7 August 1990 through 17 March 1991, his unit deployed prior to 7 August 1990 and returned on 1 May 1991. He states he has attached his OER that specifies the dates he served during the war. He asks that the records of other Soldier's in his unit be reviewed to substantiate his contentions. 3. The applicant provides copies of the award certificate for the Bronze Star Medal, a DA Form 67-8, US Army Officer Evaluation Report (OER), and three pages from the prior decisional document. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are the military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20070016214 on 1 April 2008. 2. Although preparations for possible actions in Iraq commenced earlier the first Gulf War officially began on 2 August 1990 with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Operation Desert Shield officially began on 7 August 1990 with the deployment of U. S. Air Force units into Saudi Arabia. The actual combat phase of the war, Operation Desert Storm, began on 17 January 1991. Cease-fire terms were negotiated on 1 March 1991 and the US troop redeployment home commenced on 17 March 1991. Iraq officially accepted the cease-fire terms on 6 April 1991. 3. The official inclusive dates of service in the First Gulf War are 2 August 1990 to 30 November 1995. 4. The dates (17 January 1991 through 15 March 1991) used in the prior decisional document appear to have been taken from the only document available at that time, the applicant's Bronze Star Medal award certificate. 5. A review of the Gulf War Deployment Roster shows the applicant was deployed from 19 October 1990 through 29 April 1991. The roster does not show any personnel with a deployment date earlier than 7 August 1990. 6. Although the applicant submitted his OER to show his participation dates for Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm, it does not do so. It provides no dates except those relating to the administrative date of the OER itself. 7. Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) provides policy, criteria, and administrative instructions regarding an applicant’s request for the correction of a military record. Paragraph 2-2 states that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. It will decide cases on the evidence of record and it is not an investigative body. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's official record does not contain, nor has the applicant provided, any official documentation to show the dates he was physically deployed. 2. A review of the Gulf War Deployment Roster shows the applicant was deployed from 19 October 1990 through 29 April 1991. This roster is the only official compilation available that lists the dates of deployment for the First Gulf War Soldiers. No date on the list is prior to 7 August 1990. 3. The period covered by the applicant's award of the Bronze Star Medal does not appear to include the entire period he served in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The commencement date for the award coincides with the date that Operation Desert Storm officially commenced. 4. Based on the dates listed on Gulf War Deployment Roster, it is appropriate to correct the applicant's records to show his deployment dates as from 19 October 1990 through 29 April 1991. 5. The applicant has not provided, nor does the record contain, any official documentation to show that either he or his unit deployed prior to 19 October 1990 or that it returned at a date later than 29 April 1991. 6. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to further correct the record to show any dates of deployment other than the period 19 October 1990 through 29 April 1991. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ____X___ ___X____ ____X__ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20070016214 on 1 April 2008. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing he served during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm from 19 October 1990 through 29 April 1991. 2. The Board further determined that 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 service prior to 19 October 1990 or after 29 April 1991. _______ _ 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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080016002 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080016002 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1