RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 APRIL 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040004479


      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             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Raymond Wagner                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry Bergquist               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Larry Olson                   |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

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

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that a document denying him award of the Army
Good Conduct Medal be expunged from his Official Military Personnel File
(OMPF).

2.  The applicant states that he was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal
for the period in question and that the orders are in his OMPF.  He states
that no action was taken against him and that all charges were dismissed.
He indicates the statement was issued prematurely and may cause problems
when he applies to become an Army Warrant Officer.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the disqualification statement, a copy
of his flagging action indicating his case was closed favorably, and a copy
of the orders awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 5 May
1998 to 5 May 2001.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant entered
active duty on 6 May 1992 and has served continuously.  His records confirm
that he was awarded his first Army Good Conduct Medal on 7 April 1995 for
the period May 1992 through May 1995.  His second Army Good Conduct Medal
was awarded in 1998 for the period May 1995 through May 1998.

2.  The applicant would have completed a qualifying period for award of his
third Army Good Conduct Medal in May 2001.

3.  The applicant was promoted to pay grade E-6 in November 1999 and was
awarded two Army Achievement Medals in November 1999.  His performance
evaluation reports have all been outstanding.

4.  A memorandum of record, dated 10 September 2001, and authenticated by
the applicant’s commander, notes the “following service member is
disqualified from receiving the Army Good Conduct Medal for having adverse
actions.”  The applicant’s name is reflected on the memorandum.  The
memorandum does not identify the period of disqualification, nor indicate
that it was ever referred to the applicant or that the statement should be
filed in his OMPF.

5.  An 11 January 2002 Report to Suspend Favorable Personnel Actions (Flag)
indicates that a “flag” associated with the applicant was removed on 11
January 2002 and that the “case [was] closed favorably.”  The document does
not indicate the basis for the original flag and the document is not in the
applicant’s OMPF.

6.  On 14 January 2002 the applicant reenlisted for a period of 6 years.

7.  On 2 February 2003 officials Fort Hood, Texas, awarded the applicant
his third Army Good Conduct Medal for the period May 1998 to May 2001.  His
fourth award of the Army Good Conduct Medal was announced in July 2004 for
the period May 2001 to May 2004.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that commanders may disqualify
Soldier’s from award of the Army Good Conduct Medal by preparing a
statement of the rationale for his or her decision.  The statement will
include the period of disqualification and will be referred to the
individual for comment.  The unit commander will then consider the
Soldier’s statement, if provided, and if his decision remains the same, the
commander will forward his or her statement, the individual’s statement,
and his or her consideration for filing in the individual’s OMPF.  The
custodian of the individual’s local file will forward the documents to the
Commander, United States Army Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center for
permanent filing in the individual’s OMPF.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  If the applicant were in fact disqualified from award of the Army Good
Conduct Medal the entire disqualification action, including the unit
commander’s decision document, the period of disqualification, and evidence
that the action had been referred to the individual for comment, should
have been filed in the OMPF, not just the memorandum of record.

2.  The applicant’s available file contains no derogatory information,
which might have served as a basis for disqualification.  In fact, the
applicant’s record indicates that he was successfully performing his
duties, and had received two Army Achievement Medals during the period he
believes the disqualification statement was intended to deny him award of
the Army Good Conduct Medal.  The fact that he was awarded an Army Good
Conduct Medal for the qualifying period of service ending in May 2001 and
May 2004 supports the applicant’s contention that the earlier
disqualification may have been either erroneous or prematurely rendered.

3.  In view of the fact that the applicant’s OMPF does contain orders
announcing award of the Army Good Conduct Medal for the periods May 1998 to
May 2001 and May 2001 to May 2004, and does not contain all the documents
required for disapproval of the award, it would be appropriate, and in the
interest of justice and equity to expunge the 10 September 2001
disqualification memorandum from the applicant’s file.

BOARD VOTE:

__RW___  ___LB  __  ___LO __  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 all
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by
expunging the 10 September 2001 disqualification memorandum from his OMPF.




                                  ____ Raymond Wagner______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040004479                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050419                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |100.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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