RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        13 January 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004106665


      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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Walter T. Morrison            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Eloise C. Prendergast         |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. McCants           |     |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 his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or
Discharge) be corrected to show his rank as Command Sergeant Major (CSM).

2.  The applicant states that the rank was entered in error.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification
Record), his DD Form 214 and the orders awarding him the Purple Heart with
First Oak Leaf Cluster, which show his rank as CSM.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 31 January 1972.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 6 March 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 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.

3.  The applicant, a career noncommissioned officer, served in Vietnam from
8 August 1968 to 1 July 1969.  He was the Battalion Sergeant Major, 1st
Battalion, 7th Cavalry, from 8 August 1968 to 22 August 1968 when his duty
military occupational specialty (MOS) was changed to 00Z50 (Command
Sergeant Major.  He was awarded numerous personal decorations, including
the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, The
Soldier's Medal, the Bronze Star Medal with Second Oak Leaf Cluster and "V"
Device, the Army Commendation Medal with Second Oak Leaf Cluster and "V"
Device and the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster.  He returned to
the United States and served as the CSM of Fort McArthur, California until
28 May 1970.

4.  The available records do not show when the applicant was awarded the
distinctive MOS for CSM or why he was removed, but it does show he
voluntarily withdrew from the CSM program.  MOS 00Z50 was officially
withdrawn on 28 May 1970.  He was then stationed in Oregon as a sergeant
major where he served as the Chief U.S. Army Enlisted Advisor of the Oregon
Army National Guard until he retired.

5.  On his application for voluntary retirement, that applicant listed his
highest grade served on active duty (Item 6) as "Command Sergeant Major"
and the commanders endorsement notes "Reference item 6, EM voluntarily
withdrew from the CSM program."

6.  The applicant was voluntarily retired on 31 January 1972.  Both his DD
Form 214 and his retirement orders, Letter Orders Number 9-160 by
Headquarters Sixth U.S. Army, show his rank as "Sergeant Major".

7.  Headquarters, Department of the Army Circular 611-31, dated 8 January
1968 announced the results of the first increment of Sergeants Major
nominated by their commanders for entry into the CSM program.  The
applicant was in that first increment.  Commanders were directed to notify
the individuals concerned and to take action to award CSM military
occupational specialty 00Z50.  The circular did not mention lateral
appointment from SGM to CSM.

8.  Army Regulation 614-200, prescribes the reporting, selection,
assignment, and utilization of Active Army enlisted personnel.  Chapter 7
contains guidance on the assignment and utilization of The Sergeant Major
of the Army, Command Sergeants Major, and Sergeants Major.  Paragraph 7-10
contains guidance on release from the CSM program.  It states, in pertinent
part, soldiers recommended for removal will be notified through channels of
the basis for removal and supporting documentation.  Soldiers may submit
any matters in rebuttal, mitigation, or extenuation, and each commander in
the chain of command will review the matters presented and include an
appropriate recommendation to retain or remove the soldier from the CSM
program.  For command initiated removals, the removal authority is the
first general officer exercising general court-martial authority.  Soldiers
will be notified in writing through command channels of the final
determination.

9.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets policies, standards, and procedures to for
the separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 12, as then in effect, set
forth the policies and procedures for voluntary retirement of soldiers
because of length of service.  Paragraph 12-16 contains guidance on the
grade title on the Retired List of former command sergeants major.  It
states, in pertinent part, that noncommissioned officers holding the grade
title of sergeant major, at retirement, will be placed on the Retired List
in the grade title CSM if they served satisfactorily as a CSM and were
released from the CSM Program, voluntarily or involuntarily, because of an
assignment-limiting medical or physical condition.  In such cases,
retirement orders were supposed to provide for separation as a sergeant
major and placement on the Retired List as a CSM.

10.  Army Regulation 635-200, as currently in effect, amends the Retired
List provision by adding an additional phrase.  It now reads "
Noncommissioned officers (NCOs) holding the grade title of sergeant major
(SGM) at retirement will be placed on the retired list in the grade title
of command sergeant major (CSM) if their records reflect honorable service
as CSM and they were released from the CSM Program, voluntarily or
involuntarily, because of an assignment-limiting medical or physical
condition, or to serve as SGM in any duty assignment [emphasis added].

11.  Army Regulation 635-5 provides the policy and instructions for
completing the DD Form 214.  The version in effect when the applicant was
separated states that item 5 (Grade, Rate, Rank) is self-explanatory;
however, the subsequent edition [23 May 1972] states that the current
grade, rate or rank should be entered.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant clearly served successfully as a CSM; and he voluntarily
withdrew from the CSM program.  He received a lateral transfer to the rank
of sergeant major so that he could serve in another duty station.

2.  Since the applicant's retirement, Army Regulation 635-200, paragraph 12-
16 has been modified to cover exactly this situation.  The current wording
insures that Soldiers who have held the title of rank of CSM are placed on
the Retired List with such title.

3.  In consideration of the applicant's extraordinary combat record and the
change in the governing regulation, the applicant should be placed on the
Retired List as a CSM as a matter of equity.

4.  Under the regulatory guidance provided at the time that his then
current rank was to be entered on the DD Form 214; however; as a matter of
equity and for administrative convenience his DD Form 214 should be
corrected, as an exception to policy, to show his rank as CSM.

BOARD VOTE:

__WTM__  __ECP__  __JRM__  GRANT 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 showing his rank on the Retired List
as CSM and by issuing him a new DD Form 214 showing his rank as CSM.





                            _   Walter T. Morrison_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004106665                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040113                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |129.04                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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