RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF
        

         BOARD DATE: 13 November 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003088562

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

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson
Ms. Eloise C. Prendergast		Member
Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		Member

         The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

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

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THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1. The applicant requests, in effect, that the active duty for training (ADT) time he spent on active duty while a member of the Army National Guard (ARNG) be added to his record.

2. The applicant states, in effect, that before he entered active duty in the Regular Army (RA), he had served in the ARNG for a little over a year. He has discovered that he never received a separation document (DD Form 214) that covered the time he spent on active duty for basic training and advanced individual training (AIT) while he was a member of the ARNG. Further, this ADT time was not included in any subsequent DD Form 214 he received. He states that he was always told that he was entitled to education benefits for this period of active duty service; however, because this service was never recorded in a separation document, he was denied benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He requests that his records be reviewed to see if he is eligible for a Vietnam Era education benefit.

3. The applicant provides the following documents in support of his application: DD Form 214, dated 30 April 1997; VA letter pertaining to education benefits, dated 21 October 1999; ARNG Discharge Certificate, dated 13 June 1977; Special Orders directing his assignment to basic training, dated 3 March 1976; military occupational specialty (MOS) award orders, dated 27 August 1976; and a request for discharge from the ARNG for the purpose of enlisting in the RA, dated 10 June 1977.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1. The applicant is requesting correction of active service credit for ARNG service which occurred between June and September 1976. The application submitted in this case is dated 21 March 2003.

2. 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 allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so. In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

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3. The applicant’s record shows that he was released from active duty (REFRAD) for the purpose of retirement on 30 April 1977. At the time of his separation, he held the rank and pay grade of sergeant first class/E-7 (SFC/E-7).

4. The application for voluntary retirement (DA Form 2339) submitted by the applicant on 7 May 1996 indicated in Item 14 (Chronological Dates of Military Service) that he had completed 1 year, 1 month, and 27 days of inactive service in the ARNG, from 1 March 1977 through 27 April 1977. It also showed that he would have completed 20 years and 3 days of active military service in the RA, from 28 April 1977 through 30 April 1997, as of 30 April 1997, the date of his requested REFRAD for retirement.

5. Orders Number 129-00241, dated 8 May 1996, issued by Headquarters, U. S. Army Medical Department Center and School and Fort Sam Houston, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, directed the applicant’s REFRAD for retirement on 30 April
1997 and his placement on the Retired List, in the rank and pay grade of
SFC/E-7 on 1 May 1997. These orders indicated that the applicant completed
20 years and 3 days of active military service for retirement purposes, and
21 years and 2 months for basic pay purposes.

6. On 30 April 1997, the applicant was issued a DD Form 214 covering his active duty service from 28 April 1977 through 30 April 1997. This document shows that he completed 20 years and 3 days of net active duty service during the period of the report and that he had completed 1 year, 1 month, and 27 days of prior inactive military service.

7. The applicant provides a copy of Special Orders Number 42, dated 3 March 1976, issued by the Military Department of Tennessee, Office of the Adjutant General, National Guard Armory, Nashville, Tennessee. These orders directed the applicant’s order to active duty for training at Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training and established his reporting date as 18 June 1976. The applicant also provided a copy of Orders Number 41-192, dated 27 August 1976, issued by Headquarters, U.S. Army Armor Center and Fort Knox, Fort Knox, Kentucky. These orders show that the applicant was awarded the primary MOS 11E upon completing AIT on 17 September 1976. The total period of active duty service performed by the applicant as confirmed by these orders is 3 months.

8. Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents that must be prepared for soldiers on retirement, discharge, release from active duty service, or control of the Active Army. It establishes standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. Paragraph 2-1 contains guidance on when a
DD Form 214 should be issued. It states, in pertinent part, that Reserve Component (RC) soldiers completing 90 days or more of continuous active duty for training (ADT) should receive a DD Form 214.

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9. Paragraph 2-4h of the separation document regulation provides detailed instructions and source document(s) for completing each block of the DD Form 214. It states, in effect, that active duty service completed during the period covered by the DD Form 214 will be entered in Item 12c (Net Service This Period) and any prior active duty service completed will be entered in Item 12d (Prior Active Duty Service). The instructions for completing Item 18 (Remarks) of the DD Form 214 stipulates that this item is used for Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) mandatory requirements when a separate block is not available, and as a continuation for entries in other items of the form.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1. The evidence of record confirms that the applicant completed 3 months of active duty service completing his ADT between 18 June and 17 September 1976. Further, there is no indication that this active duty service was documented in a DD Form 214 or that it was accounted for in the DD Form 214 issued to the applicant upon his retirement on 30 April 1997.

2. By regulation, active duty service performed by RC soldiers completing ADT should be accounted for by a DD Form 214. Therefore, it would be appropriate to account for the applicant’s 3 months of ADT service at this time.

3. In view of the facts of this case, it would be appropriate to amend Item 12d (Total Prior Active Service) of the applicant’s 30 April 1997 DD Form 214 to show he completed 3 months of prior active duty service and adding an entry that documents this service in Item 18 (Remarks).

4. The applicant is advised that it not within the purview of the Board to determine eligibility for veterans benefits. Veterans benefits are administered by the VA and he should contact a representative of that agency to determine if the recommended records correction would entitle him to educations benefits.

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BOARD VOTE:

_ECP___ __REB__ _AO____ GRANT RELIEF

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his 30 April 1997 DD Form 214 by adding the following entries in the items indicated:

a. Item 12d (Total Prior Active Service) “0 years, 3 months, and 0 days”;

b. Item 18 (Remarks): “Soldier completed 3 months of active duty service for training, from 18 June 1976 through 17 September 1976, while a member of the ARNG”; and

c. providing him a corrected separation document that includes these changes.




                  Arthur A. Omartian
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003088562
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	2003/11/DD
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1997/04/30
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200 C12
DISCHARGE REASON	Retirement
BOARD DECISION	GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 303	129.0100
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.