RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 June 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040006465


      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. David S. Griffin              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |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, in effect, that his military records be
corrected to show that he completed a full 2 years of active duty.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was released from Fort Ord due
to the death of his father.  He also states that his current DD Form 214
(Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) with an
effective date of
25 May 1971 shows that he is 24 hours short of 2 years service.

3.  The applicant further states, in effect, that he needs to have 2 full
years shown on his DD Form 214 so that he can qualify for government
housing or other programs.

4.  The applicant provides no additional evidence or documentation in
support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which
occurred on 25 May 1971.  The application submitted in this case is dated
20 August 2004 and was received on 1 September 2004.

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 limitations 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.

3.  The applicant's military records show he was inducted on 27 May 1969
for a period of 2 years.  He successfully completed basic combat and
advanced individual training and was awarded the military occupational
specialty 11B10 (light weapons infantryman).

4.  The applicant was absent without leave (AWOL) during the period from
6 September 1970 to 15 September 1970.  The records do not show the
disposition for this period of AWOL.



5.  The applicant served in Vietnam from 21 September 1970 to 13 April
1971.

6.  On 14 April 1971, the applicant was transferred from overseas, with 30
days emergency leave enroute, to the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Ord,
California for separation processing, to report no later than 18 May 1971.

7.  The applicant was released from active duty on 21 May 1971 due to early
separation of oversea returnee.  He had 1 year, 11 months and 19 days of
active service characterized as honorable and 10 days time lost.  The
highest grade the applicant held was private first class/pay grade E-3.

8.  Army Regulation 135-91 (Service Obligations, Methods of Fulfillment,
Participation Requirements, and Enforcement Procedures), then in effect,
prescribes policies and procedures governing the various types of service
obligations and participation requirements.  This regulation provides that
for the purpose of satisfying the active duty requirement of a statutory or
contractual obligation, officer and enlisted Soldiers are credited with
completing 2, 3, 4, or
5 years of active duty when they serve to within 90 days of the 2, 3, 4, or
5 year period.

9.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), currently in effect, in
pertinent part, provides for a mandatory entry in the remarks section of
the
DD Form 214 that indicates whether or not the member has completed their
first full term of service.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that his military records be corrected to show
that he completed a full 2 years of active duty so that he can qualify for
government housing or other programs.

2.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must,
or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or
unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy
that requirement.

3.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is determined that the
applicant was separated in accordance with all regulations in effect at the
time.

4.  The ABCMR does not correct records solely for the purpose of
establishing eligibility for benefits.

5.  In view of the foregoing, there is insufficient basis to provide relief
in this case.

6.  Notwithstanding the above, the evidence shows that the applicant did
serve to within 90 days of his 2 year contractual obligation, therefore he
is considered as having satisfied the active duty requirement of his
contractual obligation.

7.  Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to include an entry
in the remarks section on the applicant's DD Form 214 that states he did
complete his first full term of service as provided for under the current
regulation.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

___JS___  __HOF__  __LDS   _  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial 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 making the entry
"SOLDIER HAS COMPLETED FIRST FULL TERM OF SERVICE" in Item 30 (Remarks) of
the applicant's
DD Form 214, as an exception to policy.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
showing completion of
2 years active duty.




                                _____John Slone  ____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040006465                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050614                                |
|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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