RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        2 JUNE 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006161


      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:

|     |Mr. Fred Eichorn                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas O'Shaughnessy          |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Marla Troup                   |     |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 the Board’s December 2003 decision
(AR2002076652) be fully implemented by showing that his service was
characterized as fully honorable as part of the decision to correct his
records to show that he was retired by reason of physical disability
retroactive to 1975.

2.  The applicant also requests that the revised 1975 separation document,
issued in July 2004 as a result of the Board’s December 2003 decision, be
corrected to show that his MOS (military occupational specialty) titles in
item 11 (Primary Specialty) were “Office Manager” vice Admin Specialist and
Medical Records Specialist.  He asks that related civilian occupation codes
also be included on the separation document.

3.  He asks that item 14 of that document be corrected to show completion
of the Career Counselor Course on 6 July 1973 at Fort Benjamin Harrison,
Indiana, completion of Drill Sergeant training on 15 August 1969 at Fort
Jackson, South Carolina, completion of “Jump School” in November 1966 at
Fort Benning, Georgia, and completion of the Air Assault Course in 1973 at
Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

4.  He requests that the separation document be corrected to show award of
the Career Counselor Badge, an Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.

5.  He requests that his Army disability rating be increased from 30
percent to 40 percent, based on his award of the Silver Star, and that he
be credited with 30 years of active service, or in the alternative 20 years
of active service, so that he can receive CRSC (Combat Related Special
Compensation) pay.

6.  The applicant states, in effect, that when his separation document was
reissued in 2004 the items noted above were omitted.  He states that it
should reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart “for combat injury
concussion and left hearing loss [and] floaters [in his] left eye….”  He
states he sustained the damage on 4 May 1968 when his regiment was over run
and he was blown up in the air by a rocket blast “that also help[ed] mess
up my head.”

7.  He states that “by law” he is entitled to an “extra 10% at retirement”
because of his “award of the congressional silver star.”  He states that he
was only granted a 30 percent rating but it should be 40 percent.

8.  The applicant states that he is requesting that he be credited with 30
years of active military service “since the Army sent [him] home sick and
took…30 years to admit that [he] was sick.”  In the alternative, the
applicant states that he should “at least [be] put” over the “20 years mark
so [he] can get [his] CSCE [meaning CRSC] combat extra pay.

9.  The applicant provides a copy of his Silver Star order and certificate.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  In December 2003 the Board granted the applicant’s request to correct
his records to show that he was retired by reason of physical disability
vice discharged under honorable conditions under the provisions of Army
Regulation 635-200, Chapter 10, in lieu of trial by court-martial.  The
Board’s intent in that original proceedings also include changing the
applicant’s characterization of service to fully honorable.  That action
was accomplished in a supplemental proceeding and as such need not be
further addressed in these proceedings.

2.  The applicant requested correction of his records to show award of the
Air Medal.  There are no orders or other evidence authorizing award of this
decoration.  In the absence of a proper award authority for this
decoration, the applicant may request award of the Air Medal under the
provisions of Section 1130 of Title 10, United States Code.  The applicant
has been notified by separate correspondence of the procedures for applying
for this decoration under Section 1130 and, as a result, the issue of
awarding him an Air Medal will not be discussed further in the Record of
Proceedings.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant served an
initial period of active duty between 18 September 1964 and 2 September
1966.

4.  On 12 September 1966 he returned to active duty and on 27 July 1970 was
discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  During this period
of active service, the applicant served in Vietnam, where he was awarded,
among other things, the Combat Infantryman Badge and a Silver Star.

5.  While medical records available to the Board do indicate that the
applicant suffered from a hearing loss, and was issued a permanent physical
profile for that condition in 1973, the records do not show that the
hearing loss was related to enemy action that the applicant experienced on
4 May 1968, the same date for which he was awarded the Silver Star.
Medical records available to the Board do not show that the applicant was
wounded as a result of hostile action.  His name is not among a list of
individuals reported as combat casualties during the Vietnam War.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.
Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the
result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

7.  U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards)
provided, in pertinent part, for award of the Purple Heart.  The regulation
stated that authority to award the Purple Heart was delegated to hospital
commanders.  Further, it directed that all personnel treated and released
within 24 hours would be awarded the Purple Heart by the organization to
which the individual was assigned.  Personnel requiring hospitalization in
excess of 24 hours or evacuation from Vietnam would be awarded the Purple
Heart directly by the hospital commander rendering treatment.

8.  During this period of service the applicant also completed the Drill
Sergeant Course in August 1969.

9.  On 28 July 1970 the applicant reenlisted for a period of 4 years.  He
was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment on 9 June 1974.
During this period of active service, the applicant completed the Army
Recruiting and Career Counseling Course at Fort Benjamin Harrison in July
1973.  He served as a career counselor (OOE) in a variety of locations,
including in Okinawa, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and at Fort Gordon,
Georgia.

10.  Item 9 (Awards, Decorations & Campaigns) on his 1973 Department of the
Army Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) shows that he was awarded
the “Recruiter Badge.”

11.  The Recruiter Badge was originally approved by the Deputy Chief of
Staff for Personnel on 7 Nov 1966.  It was awarded by the Commanding,
General, U.S. Army Recruiting Command for wear by personnel who were
satisfactorily performing in specialty 00E at a United States Army
Recruiting Main Stations or subordinate level.  During the period in
question, the badge was authorized for temporary wear only and the
authorization for wear was withdrawn when the awardee was released from
recruiting duty.

12.  The Career Counselor badge was established in October 1971 and awarded
commencing in January 1972.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the
time, stated that the Career Counselor Badge was authorized for wear by
enlisted personnel assigned to authorized duty positions which required
specialty 00E, including personnel assigned to the U.S. Army Recruiting
Command.  Like the Recruiter Badge it was authorized only for temporary
wear and was withdrawn when the individual was reassigned or ceased to
perform the required duties of specialty 00E.

13.  Today, both badges are authorized for permanent wear.  The Career
Counselor Badge, however, is only authorized for permanent wear by Soldiers
who successfully completed 12 months of duty in specialty 00R (formerly
00E) since graduation from the Army Retention Course.  The applicant, who
completed the course in 1973, did serve in specialty 00E for 12 months
after completing the course.

14.  On 10 June 1974 the applicant executed a 3-year reenlistment contract.
 During the applicant’s military career he held a variety of military
specialties, including 11B (Infantryman), 00F (Drill Sergeant), 71L
(Administrative Specialist), and 00E (Career Counselor).  Orders issued in
December 1974 indicate that his primary specialty, 00E40, and secondary
specialty 71L40 were withdrawn and replaced by a primary specialty of 71L40
and a secondary specialty of 71G40 (Medical Records Specialist).  He was
promoted to pay grade E-7 in specialty 71L.

15.  On 21 October 1975 the applicant was discharged under honorable
conditions under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, Chapter 10, in
lieu of trial by court-martial.  It was that discharge which was
subsequently corrected by the Board’s action in December 2003.  A new
separation document was issued in July 2004.

16.  At the time of the applicant’s 1975 discharge, he had 11 years, 1
month, and 3 days of active Federal service.  His primary specialty was
recorded as 71L40 (Admin Specialist) and his secondary specialty was
recorded as 71G40 (Medical Records Specialist).  The 1975 version of the
separation document included a specific block for recording the related
civilian occupation and D.O.T. (Dictionary of Occupational Titles) number.

17.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 611-21 outlines the Army’s Military
Occupational Classification and Structure.  It indicates that the correct
title for specialty 71L is Administrative Specialist and that the title for
specialty 71G is Medical Records Specialist.  Neither specialty carries the
title “Office Manager.”  Today, separation documents do not include the
D.O.T. number information.

18.  Army Regulation 635-5 establishes the policies and provisions for the
preparation of separation documents.  It notes that item 14 (military
education) will reflect full-time, in service military courses completed
during the period of service captured on the separation document.  There is
no evidence in available records that the applicant completed airborne
training or the Air Assault Course.

19.  Title 10, United States Code, section 3991, provides that any enlisted
member who is credited with extraordinary heroism in the line of duty who
retires after 20 or more years of active Federal service, is entitled to a
10 percent increase in retired pay, subject to the 75 percent limit on
total retired pay.  Any awardee of the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished
Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force Cross satisfies the requirement for
extraordinary heroism.  An enlisted awardee of the Distinguished Flying
Cross awarded for non-combat related heroism, or the Soldier’s Medal may be
credited by the Secretary of the Army with extraordinary heroism only if it
is determined that the heroism displayed was equivalent to that required
for award of the Distinguished Service Cross.

20.  Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) is a special benefit for
certain disabled military retirees.  Congress enacted the benefit in the
Fiscal Year 2003 Defense Authorization Act.  To be eligible, the individual
must be a military retiree with at least 20 years of active duty or a
combination of active duty and Reserve points equaling 20 years of full-
time active duty (7,200 points) and either a Department of Veterans Affairs
disability rating of 10 percent or higher associated with award of the
Purple Heart; or a rating of 60 percent or higher for other illnesses or
injuries attributed to combat situations, combat-oriented training,
hazardous duty, or instrumentality of war.  The 2003 Act was expanded by
the Fiscal Year 2004 Defense Authorization Act to include retirees with 20
years of qualifying service, who have a combined, combat-related disability
of 10 percent or more.  The benefit does not apply to Soldiers who were
retired by reason of physical disability who have less than 20 years of
qualifying service.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s military specialty titles are correctly recorded on his
1975 separation document and on the new separation document which was
issued in 2004.  D.O.T. numbers are no longer recorded on separation
documents.

2.  Although the evidence does confirm that the applicant completed the
Drill Sergeant Course and the Career Counselor Course, those courses were
completed prior to the period of service captured by his final separation
document (20 June 1974 to 21 October 1975).  As such, that information
would not be recorded on his final separation document.  There is no
evidence that he completed airborne training or the Air Assault Course.

3.  While the evidence does suggest that the applicant is entitled to the
Career Counselor Badge, there is no evidence that he was ever wounded as a
result of hostile action.  In the interest of justice and equity, it would
be appropriate to correct the applicant’s final separation document to
reflect entitlement to the Career Counselor Badge.  There is, however,
insufficient evidence on which to base an award of the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant’s award of the Silver Star does not entitle him to any
increase in his disability rating.

5.  Although it may have taken nearly 30 years to recognize that the
applicant should have been medically retired in 1975 that delay does not
entitle him to have the ensuing years credited as active duty.  The Board,
in correcting the applicant’s 1975 discharge to show that he was retired by
reason of physical disability, merely corrected that injustice.  Had the
applicant been processed through disability channels in 1975 he would still
only have had slightly more than 11 years of active Federal service.  There
is no basis for granting him additional active service in order to qualify
for entitlement to CRSC.

6.  Beyond his entitlement to the Career Counselor Badge, in order to
justify correction of his military record to show the remaining items the
applicant desires he must show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear,
that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit
evidence that would satisfy that requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

___FE __  ___TO __  ___MT __  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 showing he is entitled
to the Career Counselor Badge.
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
changing the titles of his military specialties, adding the D.O.T. numbers,
showing completion of various training courses, award of the Purple Heart,
increasing his disability percentage based on award of the Silver Star, and
granting him additional active Federal service to qualify for CRSC.




                                  _____   Fred Eichorn  _____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006161                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050602                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |108.00                                  |
|3.                      |110.00                                  |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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