IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    26 January 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090013415 


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 request for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  Of note, he withdraws his request for the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) has rated him at 50-percent disabled for post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his exposure to combat in Vietnam.  This disability rating by the DVA gives him "combat veteran status."

3.  The applicant provides:

	a.  page 2 of a DVA rating decision and

	b.  a 4-page health summary (VISTA Electronic Medical Documentation), dated 12 December 2008 and printed on 18 January 2009.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are 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 AR20080014956 on 13 November 2008.

2.  The applicant submitted the documents listed in paragraph 3 above in support of his application.  These documents were not previously reviewed by the ABCMR and are considered new evidence warranting consideration by the Board.  He also makes a new argument that the DVA has afforded him combat veteran status, thereby proving his entitlement to the CIB.

3.  The applicant received military occupational specialty (MOS) training in MOS 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman) at Fort Lewis, WA, from on or about 4 August 1969 to on or about 3 October 1969.

4.  Following MOS training, he was assigned to Troop B, 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry, 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood, TX.  There he performed duties in MOS 71T (Equipment Maintenance Clerk).

5.  On or about 25 January 1970, the applicant departed Fort Hood en route to Vietnam.  He arrived in Vietnam on or about 25 February 1970 and was assigned to the U.S. Army Advisory Group, III Corps Tactical Zone, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (USMACV).  He performed duties in MOS 11B as a security guard.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the CIB is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer personnel who have an infantry MOS.  They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.  The Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command has advised in similar cases that during the Vietnam era the CIB was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

7.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided, in pertinent part, for award of the CIB.  Appendix 3 to annex A of this regulation listed 21 duty positions that were not eligible for award of the CIB although, in the performance of their duties, personnel in these 21 positions may have accompanied infantry or infantry-type units on operations.  Security guard was one of the positions not eligible for award of the CIB.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no question the applicant served in Vietnam and was exposed to combat-related stress as a result of that service.  All Soldiers who served in Vietnam – cooks, clerks, military police, engineers, etc. – have combat veteran status even though they may have never actually engaged in combat.  Soldiers who served during the Vietnam War, but never served in Vietnam, are awarded Vietnam-era service status; they are not combat veterans.

2.  The applicant served in Vietnam as a security guard with the U.S. Army Advisory Group, III Corps Tactical Zone, USMACV.  The applicant did not serve in an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.  That fact, coupled with his assignment as a security guard, made him ineligible for award of the CIB.

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20080014956, dated 13 November 2008.



      ___________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)                                         AR20090013415



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090013415



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