RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        30 June 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050000566


      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. Ronald DeNoia                 |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Melinda M. Darby              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr.  Thomas  E. O'Shaughnessy, Jr.|     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |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 Army Commendation Medal be
upgraded to a Bronze Star Medal or at least a Meritorious Service Medal.

2.  The applicant states he was originally recommended for the Bronze Star
Medal and that the Army Commendation Medal that was awarded to him is not
appropriate for his actions and service.

3.  The applicant states that he was informed that, although recommended,
he would not receive the Bronze Star Medal because of his rank and nature
of his discharge.

4.  The applicant provides a self-authored letter of explanation, dated
31 December 2004; a DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award); a DA Form 4980-
14 (Department of the Army, Army Commendation Medal Certificate); and a
copy of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty) with a separation date of 2 July 2003.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Military records show the applicant entered the Marine Corps on 20 May
1998, and served as a rifleman until he was honorably separated on 7 April
2000.

2.  The applicant entered the Army on 3 July 2002, and served as an
Infantryman with B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry of the 3rd
Infantry Division (Mechanized) in Iraq. The applicant was honorably
separated on 2 July 2003.

3.  The applicant's DD Form 214, with a separation date of 2 July 2003,
does not show award of the Army Commendation Medal.

4.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows that his rank at the time of
separation was private first class/pay grade E-3.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows that he was separated by reason of
personality disorder in accordance with paragraph 5-13 of Army Regulation
635-200 (Enlisted Separations).

6.  The applicant submitted a copy of the DA Form 638 which recommended him
for award of the Bronze Star Medal for achievement.   Block 11 (Period of
Award) of the DA Form 638 shows the entry "From 12 April 2003 To 12 April
2003."

7.  Block 20 (Achievements) of Part III (Justification and Citation Data)
of the DA Form 638 contains only the statement "SEE NARRATIVE ATTACHED."
The applicant did not attach the narrative to his application, and it is
not in his personnel records.

8.  Block 21 (Proposed Citation) of Part III of the DA Form 638 is blank.

9.  The DA Form 4980-14 provided by the applicant shows that he was awarded
the Army Commendation Medal for the period 20 March 2003 to 30 April 2003
for "exceptionally meritorious service."

10.  The applicant points out in his letter that the recommendation for the
award of the Bronze Star Medal was approved up the chain of command until
reaching the commanding general, who was the approving official, at which
time it was downgraded to the Army Commendation Medal.  The applicant
argues that his chain of command was more informed and in a better position
to evaluate his performance than the award approving official.

11.  The applicant also contends in his letter of explanation that his unit
commander and first sergeant advised the applicant that he would not get
the Bronze Star Medal because of the nature of discharge and his rank.  He
states that his award should have been based on his actions and service.
However, the applicant did not provide a statement from the unit commander
or the first sergeant regarding the reason for downgrading the recommended
award of the Bronze Star Medal.

12.  The applicant concludes that, if he was not awarded the Bronze Star
Medal, then he should have at least been awarded the Meritorious Service
Medal instead of the Army Commendation Medal.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Bronze
Star Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious
achievement or service.  As with all personal decorations, formal
recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in
orders are required.  Recommendations must be made within 2 years of the
event or period of service and the award must be made within 3 years.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Army
Commendation Medal may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the
United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Army after
6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroism, meritorious
achievement or meritorious service.
15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the
Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the
United States or of a friendly foreign nation who distinguish themselves by
outstanding meritorious achievement or service in a noncombat area.

16.  Paragraph 3-1(c) of Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the
decision to award an individual a decoration and the decision as to which
award is appropriate are both subjective decisions made by the commander
having award approval authority.  The regulation further states that awards
for meritorious achievement or service will not be based upon the grade of
the intended recipient; rather, the award should reflect both the
individual's level of responsibility and his or her manner of performance.
Finally the regulation also states that the degree to which an individual's
achievement or service enhanced the readiness or effectiveness of his or
her organization will be the predominant factor.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that the Army Commendation Medal is not
appropriate for his actions and service and that since he was recommended
for award of the Bronze Star Medal his records should be corrected to show
that award.

2.  The DA Form 638 shows that the unit commander recommended the applicant
for award of the Bronze Star Medal for achievement on 12 April 2003.
Records further show that the battalion and brigade commanders recommended
approval of the Bronze Star Medal for the applicant.

3.  The DA Form 638 was forwarded to the commanding general of the 3rd
Infantry Division who was the approval authority for all awards of the
Bronze Star Medal.  After considering the recommendation of the chain of
command, the division commander downgraded the recommended award of the
Bronze Star Medal to the Army Commendation Medal.

4.  Notwithstanding the recommendations of the chain of command, the award
approval authority is solely responsible in accordance with Army regulation
for the determination if recognition is warranted and, if so, the
appropriate level of recognition.

5.  Records clearly show that the award recommendation was properly
forwarded to the award approval authority for the Bronze Star Medal and the
award approval authority acted on that recommendation.  In the absence of
evidence which shows that the award recommendation was incomplete or
improperly processed, the award approval authority's decision to downgrade
the applicant's recognition from the Bronze Star Medal to the Army
Commendation Medal was proper and consistent with Army regulation.

6.  The applicant argues that his award was downgraded because of his rank
and the nature of his discharge.  There is no evidence and the applicant
has not provided any evidence that shows the approving authority based his
decision to downgrade the award on the applicant's rank or reason for
discharge.  Therefore, this contention is not sufficient as a basis to
upgrade the award of the Army Commendation Medal to the Bronze Star Medal.

7.  The applicant also argues that he performed a prolonged period of
excellence and "exceptionally meritorious service."  However, the DA Form
638 shows that the chain of command recommended award of the Bronze Star
Medal for achievement on 12 April 2003, not for an extended period of
meritorious service. In the absence of evidence to show specific acts or
achievements on 12 April 2003, there is no basis to consider a higher award
than the one which the commanding general deemed appropriate.

8.  The applicant contends he is at least entitled to correction of his
records to show award of the Meritorious Service Medal.  The applicant
stated and his records show his service took place during Operation Iraqi
Freedom and in a combat zone.  By regulation, the Meritorious Service Medal
is awarded for meritorious achievement or service in a noncombat area.
Therefore, the Meritorious Service Medal cannot be awarded for the
applicant's service in Iraq.

9.  Based on the foregoing, the Army Commendation Medal is the appropriate
recognition for the applicant's service in Iraq.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__YM___  __TO___  ___MMD__  DENY APPLICATION



BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned to show award of the Bronze Star Medal.




                                  __   Melinda M. Darby__________
                                            CHAIRPERSON
INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050000566                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050630                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          | DENY                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0014.0000                           |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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