IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 29 January 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080016776 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 her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show she served in a designated imminent danger pay area in Iraq. 2. The applicant states she served in a hazardous pay area. 3. The applicant provides her DD Form 214, leave and earnings data, and her Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) in support of this application. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant's records show she enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 September 2004. She completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded the military occupational specialty of paralegal specialist. The highest rank she attained while serving on active duty was specialist/pay grade E-4. 2. Section I – Assignment Information – OS [Overseas]/Deployment Combat Duty on the applicant's ERB shows she deployed to country code "IZ" [Iraq] from 29 November 2005 to 14 November 2006. 3. The applicant's DD Form 214, item 12f (Foreign Service) shows 11 months and 16 days of foreign service. 4. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows she was released from active duty on 10 August 2007 under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Enlisted Personnel) with an honorable characterization of service after completing 2 years, 10 months, and 25 days of active military service. 5. In the processing of this case the Board's staff contacted the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). By email, DFAS established that the applicant received hostile fire pay/imminent danger pay (HFP/IDP) for service in Kuwait from 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006. 6. The purpose of the DD Form 214 is to record active military service and other pertinent data regarding that service normally needed to verify military service for benefits, retirement, employment, and membership in veterans' organizations. 7. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. In pertinent part, it directs that when an active duty Soldier is deployed with his or her unit during the period covered by the DD Form 214, an entry will be made in Item 18 (Remarks) to show "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD – YYYMMDD)." DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The DFAS records show the applicant received imminent danger pay for service in Kuwait during the period 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006. 2. The applicant's ERB shows the exact dates she was deployed overseas and her DD Form 214 shows foreign service in Item 12f for an equal period of time. However, the ERB overseas service dates of 29 November 2005 to 14 November 2006 do not coincide with DFAS' dates the applicant received HFP/IDP. There is also a discrepancy shown in the country of service in that the ERB shows a country code for Iraq and DFAS' email verification shows service in Kuwait. 3. HFP/IDP is paid in full months. As such, the dates the applicant received HFP/IDP does not in and of itself establish the exact dates the applicant served in Iraq or Kuwait. 4. In summary, the applicant states she arrived in Iraq on 29 November 2005, the applicant's ERB shows she arrived in Iraq on 29 November 2005, but her HFP/IDP didn't start until 1 December 2005 and was for Kuwait. 5. In all likelihood, the applicant was enroute to Kuwait on 29 November 2005 but didn't arrive in Iraq until 1 December 2005, which would explain why she didn't receive HFP/IDP until December 2005. The applicant's unit apparently staged in Kuwait, which is why her IDP/HFP is for Kuwait. Since both Kuwait and Iraq are IDP/HFP areas, there was no need to advise DFAS when the applicant's unit was further deployed from Kuwait to Iraq. 6. As such, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant's records to show that she served in Kuwait/Iraq from 1 December 2005 to 14 November 2006. BOARD VOTE: ___X____ ___X___ ___X____ 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 the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned, Item 18 (Remarks), be corrected to add the entry "SERVICE IN KUWAIT/IRAQ FROM 1 DECEMBER 2005 – 14 NOVEMBER 2006." _________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) AR20080016776 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080016776 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1