RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        27 September 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040011399


      I certify that hiseinafter 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. Prevolia A. Harper            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ronald E. Blakely             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lawrence Foster               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas            |     |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 reentry (RE) code of RE-4
be upgraded to an acceptable level which would allow him to reenlist.

2.  The applicant states that his RE code should be changed because he
believes that he is fully competent to perform duties as a trained Recovery
and Evacuation Specialist.

3.  The applicant further states that he has a debt that he considers
important enough to reenlist.  He continues that his skills are needed and
he was trained at great expense to the Army and is fully qualified to
serve.

4.  The applicant provides:

      a.  A self-authored statement and letter, dated 10 December 2004.

      b.  A DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty) with an effective date 11 June 1984.

      c.  A DD Form 214 with an effective date of 7 March 1980.

      d.  A DD Form 215, dated 10 August 1983.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 11 June 1984.  The application submitted in this case is dated
17 December 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 record shows he initially enlisted in the Regular Army on

8 March 1977 for a period of 3 years.  He was trained in and awarded
military occupational specialty (MOS) 63F10 (Recovery Vehicle Operator).
He was honorably discharged on 7 March 1980 after completing 3 years of
active military service.

4.  The applicant reenlisted in the Regular Army 27 January 1984 for a
period of 3 years.  He served in the MOS P63T10 (Bradley Fighting Systems
Mechanic) and the highest rank he attained while serving on active duty
during this period was sergeant/pay grade E-5.

5.  The applicant’s record does not contain the complete circumstances
surrounding his discharge for this period.

6.  The record also shows that during his active duty tenure, the applicant
earned the Expert Qualification Badge (M-16), Expert Qualification Badge
(.45 caliber pistol), and the Army Service Ribbon.  The record documents no
acts of valor, significant achievement or service warranting special
recognition.

7.  The applicant’s record contains a General Counseling Form, dated 21 May
1984 which shows that on 3 May 1984, the applicant was referred for
psychiatric treatment at Landstul Army Medical Center.  This form also
shows that on
19 May 1984, the applicant was advised that due to his psychiatric
condition, he would be eliminated from the service.  The applicant’s record
does not contain medical records pertaining to the mental health evaluation
that he underwent prior to his separation.

8.  On 21 May 1984, the unit commander counseled the applicant regarding
the findings and recommendations of the competent medical authority who
determined that rehabilitation was not practical and that he should be
eliminated from the service as soon as possible under the provisions of
paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200.

9.  On 31 May 1984, the applicant’s unit commander initiated separation
action under the provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200, by
reason of personality disorder.  The unit commander cited the fact that the
applicant had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and that the
service member had not been able to perform his duties satisfactorily since
his assignment to the unit.  He requested a waiver of the requirements for
a rehabilitative transfer because he felt the applicant would create
serious disciplinary problems or be a hazard to the military mission or to
the individual.

10.  The applicant acknowledged receipt of the separation action and
consulted legal counsel.  He also waived a hearing by a board of officers,
and did not submit a statement in his own behalf.

11.  On 4 June 1984, the separation authority approved the applicant’s
separation under the provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200
due to a personality disorder and directed that he receive an honorable
discharge.  On 11 June 1984, the applicant was discharged accordingly.

12.  Item 25 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 confirms that the authority for
his separation was chapter 5, paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200.
Item 28 confirms that the reason for his discharge was personality
disorder.  Item 26
(Separation Code) lists the Separation Program Designator (SPD) code JFX
and item 27 (Reentry Code) lists the RE code of RE-4.

13.  The applicant provided a statement in which he stated that the chapter
code and narrative reason for his discharge are not correct and that he
would prove beyond any doubt that this condition does not exist and is not
an accurate description of his status today.

14.  The applicant provided a self-authored letter in which he stated that
he acquired his status to get out of the Army early during 1984 so that he
could save his marriage.  The applicant stated, in effect, that he is
asking that an exception be made on two counts, his reenlistment code and
his age.  The applicant further stated that at age 49 he is in better
physical and mental condition and he is willing to serve in any mechanized
unit deployed to the Middle East and will forego retirement requirements
and go before any medical board.

15.  The applicant authenticated his 11 June 1984 DD Form 214 with his
signature in Item 21 (Signature of Member Being Separated).  There is no
indication that he questioned the SPD or RE codes listed on the separation
document at that time.  Pertinent Army regulations, in effect at the time,
provided that prior to discharge or release from active duty, individuals
would be assigned RE codes, based on their service records or the reason
for discharge. Army Regulation 601-210 covered eligibility criteria,
policies, and procedures for enlistment and processing into the Regular
Army (RA) and the US Army Reserve.  Chapter 3 of that regulation prescribed
basic eligibility for prior service applicants for enlistment. That chapter
included a list of armed forces RE codes, including RA RE codes.


16.  Army Regulation (AR) 635-5-1 (SPD Codes) provides the specific
authorities (regulatory or directive), reasons for separating soldiers from
active duty, and the SPD codes to be entered on the DD Form 214.  The SPD
code of JFX is the appropriate code to assign soldiers separated under the
provisions of paragraph 5-13, Army Regulation 635-200, by reason of
personality disorder.  Additionally, Table 2-3 (SPD/RE Code Cross Reference
Table) establishes RE-3 as the proper reentry code to assign to soldiers
separated with a SPD code of JFX.

17.  Army Regulation 601-210 covers eligibility criteria, policies, and
procedures for enlistment and processing into the Regular Army (RA) and the
United States Army Reserve (USAR).  Chapter 3 of that regulation prescribes
basic eligibility for prior service applicants for enlistment.  That
chapter includes a list of armed forces RE codes, including RA RE codes.
RE-3 applies to persons completing their terms of service who are not
considered fully qualified for reentry or continuous service at the time of
separation but the disqualification is waivable.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim that he did not have a personality disorder and
that he chose to get out of the Army in 1984 to save his marriage was
carefully considered.  However, there is no evidence and the applicant has
not provided any evidence to support his claim.

2.  The specific facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant’s
separation processing are not on file.  However, his record does contain a
properly constituted DD Form 214 that contains the authority and reason for
the applicant’s separation and the corresponding SPD code.  The applicant
authenticated this document with his signature at the time of his
separation

3.  By regulation, the proper RE code assignment for members separated
under provisions that authorize an assignment of the SPD code of JFX is RE-
3.  Item 27 of the applicant's DD Form 214 was erroneously annotated with
an RE-4 code.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his separation
document to read RE-3 in Item 27.








4.  The applicant is advised that while RE-3 does apply to persons who are
not considered fully qualified for reentry or continuous service; there are
provisions that provide for a waiver of the disqualification.  Therefore,
once the applicant’s RE code has been changed from RE-4 to RE-3, if he
still desires to reenlist, he should contact a local recruiter to determine
his eligibility.  Those individuals can best advise a former service member
as to the needs of the Army at the time, and are required to process
waivers of RE codes.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 11 June 1984; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 10 June 1987.  Although the applicant did not file within the 3-
year statute of limitations, it would be in the interest of justice to
excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

__REB __  ___LF    _  __LMD__  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 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 Item 27 of his DD Form 214 to
read “RE-3” vice RE-4 as is currently listed and by providing him a
corrected separation document that reflects this change.





                                   ____Ronald E. Blakely____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040011399                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050927                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR635-200, chap 5 . . . . .             |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Personality disorder                    |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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