RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           3 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002655


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Thomas D. Howard              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John Infante                  |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |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, award of the Meritorious Service
Medal (MSM), Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM), Expert Infantryman Badge
(EIB), and Marksman Qualification Badge with Machine Gun Bar (M-60).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he separated from the service early,
and he believes his records never caught up with him.  He claims he
received the awards in question through the mail and would like them added
to his separation document (DD Form 214) at this time.

3.  The applicant provides no documentary evidence in support of his
application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 26 January 1972.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
11 February 2005.

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 requests award of the MSM.  However, there are no orders
or other evidence on file in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)
that confirms he is entitled to this award.  In the absence of authority
for this award, he may request award of the MSM under the provisions of
Section 1130 of Title 10 of the United States Code (10 USC 1130).  The
applicant has been notified by separate correspondence of the procedures
for applying for this award under
10 USC 1130.  As a result, his request for award of the MSM will not be
discussed further in this Record of Proceedings.

4.  The applicant’s record shows he enlisted in the Regular Army and
entered active duty on 24 July 1969.  He was trained in, awarded and served
in the primary military occupational specialty (PMOS) 12B (Combat Engineer)
and the secondary MOS (SMOS) 11B (Infantryman).

5.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) shows, in
Item 38 (Record of Assignments), that he completed the basic airborne
course at Fort Benning, Georgia and the combat engineer special forces (SF)
course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  It also shows that he received
“Excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings at all of his active duty
assignments.

6.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant’s DA Form 20 shows
that during his active duty tenure, he earned the following awards:
National Defense Service Medal (NDSM), Parachutist Badge, Expert
Qualification Badge with Rifle (M-16) Bar, Sharpshooter Qualification Badge
with Rifle (M-14) Bar and Marksman Qualification Badge with Machine Gun (M-
60) Bar.

7.  The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains no
derogatory information and there is no documented record of a
disqualification
from any of the applicant's active duty commanders that would have
precluded
him from receiving the AGCM.

8.  On 26 January 1972, the applicant was honorably separated after
completing 2 years, 6 months, and 3 days of active military service.  The
DD Form 214 he was issued shows he earned the NDSM, Parachutist Badge and
Expert Qualification Badge with Rifle (M16 & M-14) Bar during his active
duty tenure.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Chapter 4 prescribes the
policy for award of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that the AGCM
is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct,
efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted
service.  This period is 3 years, except in those cases when the period for
the first award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military
service, in which case a period of more than 1 year is a qualifying period.
 Although there is no automatic entitlement to the AGCM, disqualification
must be justified.

10.  Chapter 8 contains the policy for awarding Badges and Tabs of United
States Origin.  Paragraph 8-8 contains guidance on awarding the EIB.  The
regulation stipulates that in order to qualify for the EIB, a candidate
must be in an active Army status and must possess a primary MOS in career
management field 11 (Infantry).  Further, a member must meet all
prerequisites and proficiency tests prescribed by the United States
Infantry Center by testing with an infantry unit of at least battalion
size.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant received "Excellent"
conduct and efficiency ratings at all of his active duty assignments.
Further, his record is void of any derogatory information or a specific
disqualification by any of the active duty unit commanders for whom he
served.  As a result, it would be appropriate to award the applicant the
first award of the AGCM, for his qualifying period of honorable active duty
service from 24 July 1969 through 26 January 1972.

2.  The record also shows the applicant earned the Marksman Qualification
Badge with Machine Gun (M-60) Bar.  Thus, it would also be appropriate to
add this earned badge to his separation document at this time.

3.  By regulation in order to qualify for the EIB, a member must possess a
PMOS in career management field 11 (Infantry).  Further, a member must meet
all prerequisites and proficiency tests prescribed by the United States
Infantry Center by testing with an infantry unit of at least battalion
size.  The applicant’s record confirms his PMOS was 12B, which is in the
engineer career management field.  Further, his record contains no
indication that he ever completed the required testing with an infantry
unit.  As a result, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support
adding the EIB to his record at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

___TDH _  __JI   ___  ___CD_____  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 awarding him the first
award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, for his qualifying honorable period
of active duty service from 24 July 1969 through 26 January 1972; by adding
the Marksman Qualification Badge with Machine Gun (M-60) Bar to the list of
awards contained on his DD Form 214; and by providing him a corrected
separation document that reflects these changes.

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
award of the
Expert Infantryman Badge.




            ____Thomas D. Howard_____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002655                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/11/03                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1972/01/26                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-200                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |SecAuth                                 |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PARTIAL                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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