RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        13 SEPTEMBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050000197


      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. Shirley Powell                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert Duecaster              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette 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 one of his Bronze Star Medal award
certificates be expunged from his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his records reflect award of two
Bronze Star Medals.  However, he notes that while the certificates contain
different order numbers they are in fact for the same period and for the
same service.  He states he was not awarded separate decorations and that
the awards are duplicates.

3.  The applicant provides copies of the two Bronze Star Medal certificates
and a copy of a message from the OMPF custodian directing him to appeal to
this Board to have one of the certificates expunged from his files.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is currently serving on active duty in pay grade E-8.
His application for correction of his records was initiated in December
2004 and received by the Board in January 2005.

2.  On 29 April 2003 the applicant was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for
meritorious achievement between 20 March 2003 and 20 April 2003, while
serving as a first sergeant in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Orders published by the 3rd Infantry Division confirmed the award.

3.  On 30 October 2003 a second order and certificate was issued by the 3rd
Infantry Division awarding the applicant the Bronze Star Medal.  The
wording and period of achievement on the second certificate is identical to
the one issued in April 2003.  Both certificates are filed in the
applicant's OMPF.

4.  According to a message from an official at the Enlisted Records and
Evaluation Center, dated 18 May 2005, the OMPF custodian was unable to
remove the duplicate certificate because the certificates contained two
different order numbers.  The custodian directed the applicant to apply to
this Board for relief.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that only one decoration will be
awarded to an individual for the same act, achievement, or period of
meritorious service.  It states that once an award has been presented, it
may be revoked by the awarding authority if facts subsequently determined
would have prevented original approval of the award had they been known at
the time.  Revocations of awards are announced in permanent orders and
require that the affected individual be informed that he or she has the
right to appeal the revocation.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Clearly the two Bronze Star Medal certificates contained in the
applicant's file are duplicate awards and were never intended to suggest
that the applicant was awarded two separate decorations.  It is reasonable
to conclude that had the awards authority been aware in October 2003 that
the applicant's achievement in Iraq had already been recognized by the
Bronze Star Medal awarded in April 2003 the October award would not have
been published.

2.  While procedures are outlined in Army Regulation 600-8-22 for the
revocation of awards, in this particular case it would be in the interest
of justice and equity for the Board to grant the relief requested.  The
evidence available to the Board suggests that the applicant has been
attempting since at least May 2004 to rectify the duplicate award in his
OMPF and was in fact directed by the OMPF custodian to seek relief from
this Board.

3.  The Board could direct that the applicant contact the original award
authority to have the second Bronze Star Medal revoked, however, such an
action would merely result in another document being filed in his OMPF to
show that the October 2003 award was revoked.  Such action could only serve
to further confuse the situation, and could in fact, create a further
injustice in the applicant's OMPF by implying that the applicant had an
award revoked without an explanation that the revocation was merely of a
duplicate award.  As such, it would be appropriate for the Board to expunge
the October 2003 Bronze Star Medal from the applicant's file which
duplicated the April 2003 award.

BOARD VOTE:

__SP ___  __RD ___  ___JM __  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 Bronze Star Medal awarded to the applicant on 30 October 2003
from his OMPF.




                                  _____ Shirley Powell_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050000197                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050913                                |
|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.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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