RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 DECEMBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004104910


      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:

|     |Ms. Jennifer Prater               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Diane Armstrong               |     |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 mistakenly disapproved for award of
the Good Conduct Medal for the period 10 November 1999 through 9 November
2002.  He states that his chain of command later approved the award and
both the disapproval and the approval documents are filed in his OMPF.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the disapproval document and a copy of
the orders approving his second award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant entered
active duty on 16 June 1993 and served continuously until 9 August 1998
when he was released from active duty as a result of parenthood.  His
records confirm that he was awarded his first Army Good Conduct Medal on 10
January 1997 for the period 16 June 1993 through 15 June 1996.

2.  On 10 November 1999 the applicant returned to active duty after
enlisting, in pay grade E-4, for a period of 3 years.

3.  The applicant was promoted to pay grade E-5 on 1 March 2001,
successfully completed PLDC (Primary Leadership Development Course) in
August 2001, and BNCOC (Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course) in 2002.  He
was awarded a certificate of achievement and an Army Commendation Medal
during the same period.  His performance evaluation reports were all
outstanding.

4.  An undated endorsement, authenticated by the chief of the personnel
support division on behalf of the Commander, United States Army Armor
Center and Fort Knox, and addressed to the Commander, United States Army
Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center, indicated that the “attached
disqualification pertaining to the [the applicant] has been approved by
this command.”  The document requested that “the disqualification and
endorsements be placed in the soldier’s Official Military Personnel File
(OMPF).”  The endorsement does not identify the period of disqualification,
nor were any of the supporting documents included in the applicant’s OMPF.

5.  In January 2002 the applicant reenlisted for a period of 6 years.
6.  On 12 November 2003 the applicant’s unit commander at Fort Knox,
Kentucky, approved award of the Army Good Conduct Medal to the applicant
for the period 10 November 1999 to 9 November 2002.  Orders announcing the
award were published that same day.

7.  In December 2003 the applicant was promoted to pay grade E-6.

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 for the period 10 November 1999 to 9 November 2002 the entire
disqualification action, including the unit commander’s decision document
and evidence that the action had been referred to the individual for
comment, should have been filed in the OMPF, not just the cover endorsement
from the local personnel division.

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 completing training,
received commendable performance evaluations, was promoted, and received a
certificate of achievement and an Army Commendation Medal during the period
of the Army Good Conduct Medal.  The fact that his unit commander
subsequently authored a statement specifically approving the Army Good
Conduct Medal further supports the applicant’s contention that the earlier
disqualification was erroneous.

3.  In view of the fact that the applicant’s OMPF does contain a statement
and an order approving award of the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period
10 November 1999 to 9 November 2002 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 undated disqualification
endorsement from the applicant’s file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  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 undated endorsement, which indicates that the applicant was
denied award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, from his OMPF.




                                  ______________________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

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


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