MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 17 January 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001065120


         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Mr. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Chairperson
Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		Member
Mr. Kenneth W. Lapin		Member

         The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date. In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

         The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
                  Records

         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
                  advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS: Reconsideration of his earlier appeal to correct his military records by showing that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

APPLICANT STATES: In effect, that he served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (light weapons infantryman) and that he served in combat.

NEW EVIDENCE OR INFORMATION: Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the decisional document prepared to reflect the Board's previous consideration of the case (AR 2000051469) on 12 April 2000.

In support of the applicant’s request for reconsideration, he submitted a copy of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) which was previously considered during deliberations by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) on 12 April 2000 and by the staff of the ABCMR during its review on 23 October 2001. The applicant also submitted a copy of a 20 September 1971 letter from the applicant to his grandfather and a 30 May 2000 letter from the applicant to the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) which are new evidence.

The applicant’s letter to his grandfather and his letter to the DVA constitute new evidence that requires Board consideration.

The applicant’s 20 September 1971 letter to his grandfather states that the 277th Battalion is supposed to stand down [inactivated] which means we will be going up to Da Nang or we will be sending our colors back to the States. The applicant further stated that he and eight other soldiers went out in the field for six days on a search and destroy mission for Viet Cong who were shooting rockets into Chu Lai. He also wrote that they conducted a night ambush and killed six enemy soldiers and captured their rocket launcher. The return address on this letter is the Security Platoon of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 277th Supply and Service Battalion.

The applicant’s 30 May 2000 letter to the DVA provides information regarding his disability claim for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this letter he describes a combat operation during which he contends that one fellow soldier was wounded and four fellow soldiers were killed. He also describes the same ambush event about which he wrote to his grandfather on 20 September 1971. Finally he also states that, in 1971, he and eight other soldiers were on a security mission and were ambushed.

This Board reviewed the DA Form 20 submitted by the applicant. This military record shows that the applicant was assigned in Vietnam from 21 December 1970 through 21 June 1971 as a Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen Production Specialist in MOS 53C20. The DA Form 20 also shows that he was assigned to the 74th Engineer Detachment from 21 December 1970 through 18 March 1971 and the 518th Engineer Detachment from 19 March 1971 through 21 June 1971.

The applicant’s DA Form 20 also shows that he was assigned in Vietnam from 22 June 1971 through 29 June 1971 to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 277th Supply and Service Battalion as a security guard in MOS 11B20.

The applicant’s DA Form 20 also shows that he was assigned in Vietnam from 30 June 1971 through 20 December 1971 to the 3rd Platoon of Company D, 87th Infantry, as a security guard in MOS 11B20.

The applicant’s records show that he was awarded MOS 53C20 effective 4 September 1970 and that he retained that MOS throughout his Army service. There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records awarding him any infantry MOS and specifically MOS 11B20.

The applicant’s records contain Headquarters, U.S. Army Support Command, Da Nang Special Orders Number 181, dated 30 June 1971, which reassigned the applicant from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 277th Supply and Service Battalion to Company D, 87th Infantry, for duty with the 3rd Platoon at Chu Lai. These orders show the applicant’s duty MOS as 11B20; however, there are no orders which withdrew MOS 53C20 and awarded him MOS 11B20.

Department of the Army records show that the 87th Infantry was a security guard unit comprised of Company C and Company D. Company C was subordinate unit of the 92nd Military Police Battalion which was assigned to the U.S. Army Support Command, Saigon. Company D was assigned to the 95th Military Police Battalion which was a subordinate of the U.S. Army Support Command, Da Nang and performed the missions of installation security, convoy security, and operation of prisoner of war and detention facilities.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons 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 Total Army Personnel Command has advised, in similar cases, that during the Vietnam era the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation Number 672-1 (Awards and Decorations) specifically governed award of the Combat Infantryman Badge to Army forces operating in South Vietnam. This regulation specifically stated that criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge identified the man who trained, lived, and fought as an infantryman and the Combat Infantryman Badge is the unique award established to recognize the infantryman and only the infantryman for his service. Further, “the Combat Infantryman Badge is not an award for being shot at or for undergoing the hazards of day to day combat.” This regulation also stated the Combat Infantryman Badge was authorized for award to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS and required that they must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size.

DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1. The Board reviewed the applicant’s service personnel records, the 12 April 2000 Memorandum of Consideration by the ABCMR in the applicant’s case, his 10 May 2001 application to the ABCMR, the ABCMR’s 23 October 2001 response to the 10 May 2001 application, and all of the documentation provided by the applicant.

2. Notwithstanding the fact there are orders which placed the applicant in a security guard position with a duty MOS of 11B20, there is no evidence that the applicant ever qualified for or was awarded an infantry MOS. Evidence of record shows that the applicant retained MOS 53C20 throughout his Army service. Evidence of record also shows that the applicant was assigned to a security guard company of a Military Police Battalion which was a subordinate command of a major logistics headquarters, the U.S. Army Support Command, Da Nang.

3. As stated in regulations governing award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, “the Combat Infantryman Badge is not an award for being shot at or for undergoing the hazards of day to day combat.” Award of the Combat Infantryman Badge requires award of an infantry MOS, assignment to an infantry duty position in an infantry unit of regimental or smaller size which is engaged in ground combat. Notwithstanding the applicant’s 20 September 1971 letter to his grandfather and his 30 May 2000 letter to the DVA, there is no evidence of record which confirms the applicant was involved in combat operations as a member of an infantry regiment, infantry battalion or infantry company. The Board concluded that the applicant may have been subjected to hostile fire, but that he was not a member of an infantry unit whose primary mission was the conduct of ground combat operations against an armed enemy.

4. Based on the foregoing, The Board determined that the applicant was not eligible for or otherwise entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge at the time of his service in Vietnam and is not now eligible for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

5. The overall merits of the case, including the latest submissions and arguments, are insufficient as a basis for the Board to reverse its previous decision.

6. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.


BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JLP___ __KWL__ ___CJP__ DENY APPLICATION



         Carl W. S. Chun

Director, Army Board for Correction
         of Military Records

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001065120
SUFFIX
RECON	This applies only to ADRB
DATE BOARDED	20020117
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER
ISSUES 1.	107.0112.0000
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

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LIST OF TABS


TAB A—Applicant’s 14 November 2001 request for reconsideration.

TAB B—Applicant’s 10 May 2001 application and ABCMR’s 23 October 2001 letter response.

TAB C—The ABCMR’s 12 April 2000 Memorandum of Consideration.