IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 19 September 2013 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130003193 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) for the period ending 12 January 1995 to show he received an honorable vice an uncharacterized discharge. 2. The applicant states he has paperwork which shows he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR). 3. The applicant provides: * DD Form 214 * Orders D-02-206856 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's records show he enlisted in the USAR on 11 February 1994. 3. He entered active duty for training (ADT) on 16 August 1994. He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 77F (Petroleum Supply Specialist). 4. He was released from ADT and returned to his USAR unit on 12 January 1995. 5. The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time of his release from ADT shows he completed 4 months and 27 days of active service. Item 24 (Character of Service) of this form shows the entry "Uncharacterized." 6. A member of a Reserve component who is not on active duty or who is serving under a call or order to active duty for 180 days or less begins entry-level status upon enlistment in a Reserve component. Entry-level status of such a member of a Reserve component terminates (a) 180 days after beginning training if the Soldier is ordered to ADT for one continuous period of 180 days or more; or (b) 90 days after the beginning of the second period of ADT if the Soldier is ordered to ADT under a program that splits the training into two or more separate periods of active duty. 7. Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations) sets forth the basic authority for separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 4, in pertinent part, provides for the separation or release from active duty upon termination of enlistment and other period of active duty or active duty for training. Specifically, individuals of the USAR ordered to active duty who have completed less than 180 days of continuous active duty will have their service uncharacterized, even though they have completed initial ADT. 8. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. The separation document is to provide the individual with a complete and accurate documentary evidence of their military service. The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty of more than 90 days to include attendance at basic and advanced training and is prepared for all personnel at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. During the first 180 days of continuous active military service, a member's service is under review. When separated within the first 180 days, service is usually not characterized unless the circumstances of the separation warrant an under other than honorable conditions discharge. An honorable characterization may be given only if the service clearly warrants that characterization by unusual circumstances of personal conduct and performance of military duty and is approved by the Secretary of the Army. 2. The entry-level separation (uncharacterized) is given regardless of the reason for separation. This uncharacterized discharge is neither positive nor negative; it is not "derogatory." It simply means the Soldier did not serve long enough to qualify for a specified characterization of service. 3. Evidence shows he served on active duty from 16 August 1994 to 12 January 1995, a period of 4 months and 27 days. Therefore, he did not complete the requisite minimum of 180 days of active duty service for determining characterization. 4. The applicant received the appropriate character of service and he has provided no evidence to show it is in error or unjust. Therefore, there is no basis for granting the requested relief. 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. _______ _ 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) AR20130003193 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130003193 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1