RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  1 April 2008
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070017540 


	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.


Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano

Director

Mr. Mohammed R. Elhaj

Analyst


The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. Lester Echols

Chairperson

Mr. Joe R. Schroeder

Member

Mr. Larry W. Racster

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 reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Combat Medical Badge (CMB).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was not awarded the CMB.

3.  The applicant provides a letter, dated 10 September 2006, from his former squadron commander (now a retired Major General), in support of his application.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests the applicant be awarded the CMB.

2.  Counsel states that the request for reconsideration was mistakenly submitted to the Commander, Human Resources Command (HRC), Alexandria, Virginia. Specifically, counsel presents the following arguments:

	a.  the Board erred in denying the applicant his CMB based on a determination that he was not assigned or attached to a medical unit of company or smaller size that was organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regiment, or smaller size and that the word “or” is a mutually exclusive criterion that does not require the unit of attachment or assignment to be organic to an infantry unit; 

	b.  the medical officer’s statement and evidence that the squadron surgeon and two other members of the squadron were awarded the CMB are irrefutable evidence that the Army regulation was interpreted in favor of the applicant’s unit; 

	c.  the Board’s statute of limitations contradicts Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) which allows a timely-submitted award recommendation that was subsequently lost to be resubmitted within two years of the determination of loss;

	d.  the denial of the CMB may seem insignificant to some who were awarded high decorations throughout their career, but to the applicant, the badge represents placing his life on the line in combat; 


	e.  when a Soldier gives so much on the battlefield to heal our wounded warriors and provide comfort to those who die in their arms, it is disloyal and unjust to not correct a simple administrative flaw and award the badge to a deserving Soldier;

	f.  it reflects poorly on the Army to not recognize the service of those who endure the hazards of combat and sacrifice their lives for their country and the Army should relish the opportunity to recognize an error as it sends a message of the pride the Army takes in its Soldiers; and 

	g.  there is nothing gained by the applicant as a result of this award; it is a simple question of justice and equity.  Equity is the enactment of principles of fairness to produce a remedy for every wrong and awarding the applicant his long-overdue CMB reinforces the argument that the Army takes care of its own.

3.  The applicant submitted a statement by his former squadron commander, dated 10 September 2006 in support of his reconsideration request.  Counsel did not provide any new or additional documentary evidence in support of the applicant's request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR2003098538, on 18 May 2004.

2.  The applicant submitted a statement by his former squadron commander, which was not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, it is considered new evidence and as such warrants consideration by the Board.

3.  The applicant’s record shows that he enlisted on 23 September 1966 for a period of 3 years.  He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 91B (Medical Specialist).  The applicant’s record further shows that he served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period 13 November 1967 through 3 November 1968.  He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Armored Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division.  He was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group on 22 September 1969.

4.  The applicant’s record further shows that he reenlisted for a period of 3 years on 18 March 1970 and for a period of 6 years on 5 April 1972.  He was honorably discharged on 4 April 1978.   

5.  Item 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Purple Heart, the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze service stars, the Bronze Star Medal (2nd Award), the Valorous Unit Award, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal First Class Unit Citation, the Good Conduct Medal, the Silver Star Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Congressional Unit Citation, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Pistol Bar.  Item 26 does not show award of the Combat Medical Badge.

6.  There are no Special Orders in the applicant’s record that shows he was awarded the Combat Medical Badge.  

7.  The applicant submitted a statement authored by his former squadron commander at the time (now a retired Major General).  In his statement, the former squadron commander stated that his troops and platoons were normally attached to infantry battalions during periods of heavy combat, where they integrated into the search and destroy, attack and defensive operations of the infantry units, and where their medics, as a matter of course, treated all the wounded under fire.  Further, when operating under squadron command, his troops frequently had infantry elements attached to them for the conduct of integrated operations.  He further added that the fact that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart and at least two awards for heroism would appear to establish incontrovertibly the fact that he performed is medical duties under fire.  The Soldiers he treated were infantry Soldiers of the supported/supporting infantry units as well as members of his cavalry platoon.  The distinction seems totally irrelevant.  The Squadron Commander further suggested that other combat medics in his unit who were not awarded this badge should also be awarded the CMB and with proper coordination, this can be done in an award ceremony.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Medical Badge may be awarded to members of the Army Medical Department (Colonels and below), the Naval Medical Department (Captains and below), the Air Force Medical Service (Colonels and below), assigned or 
attached by appropriate orders to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size, or to a medical unit of company or smaller size, organic to an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period the infantry unit is engaged in actual ground combat on or after 6 December 1941.  Battle 
participation credit alone is not sufficient; the infantry unit must have been in contact with the enemy.  Eligibility for the CMB was further expanded to include: 

	a.  Effective 19 December 1989, special forces personnel possessing military occupational specialty (MOS) 18D (Special Operations Medical Sergeant) who satisfactorily perform medical duties while assigned or attached to a Special Forces unit during any period the unit is engaged in active ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire.  Retroactive awards under these criteria are not authorized prior to 19 December 1989.

	b.  Effective 16 January 1991, medical personnel assigned or attached to armor and ground cavalry units of brigade or smaller size, who satisfactorily perform medical duties while the unit is engaged in actual ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire.  Retroactive awards under these criteria are not authorized prior to 16 January 1991.

	c.  Effective 11 September 2001, medical personnel assigned or attached to or under operational control of any ground Combat Arms units (not to include members assigned or attached to Aviation units) of brigade or smaller size, who satisfactorily perform medical duties while the unit is engaged in actual ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire.  Retroactive awards under these criteria are not authorized prior to 11 September 2001.

9.  Originally established as the Medical Badge, the CMB was created by the War Department on 1 March 1945.  It could be awarded to officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers of the Medical Department assigned or attached to the medical detachment of infantry regiments, infantry battalions, and elements thereof designated as infantry in tables of organization or tables of organization and equipment.  Its evolution stemmed from a requirement to recognize medical aid men who shared the same hazards and hardships of ground combat on a daily basis with the infantry Soldier.  Though established almost a year and a half after the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), it could be awarded retroactively to 7 December 1941 to fully qualified personnel.

10.  Like the CIB, the Regimental Commander was the lowest level at which the CMB could be approved and it also carried with it a separate provision for enlisted badge holders to receive a $10 per month pay stipend.  The CMB was 
created as a "companion" badge to the CIB with criteria for its award intended to parallel that of the CIB.  It was designed to provide recognition to the field medic who accompanies the infantryman into battle and shares with the experiences 
unique to the infantry in combat.  There was never any intention to award the CMB to all medical personnel who serve in a combat zone or imminent danger area, that is, a division-level medical company supporting a maneuver brigade.
As with the CIB, the infantry unit to which the medical personnel are assigned or attached must engage the enemy in active ground combat.  Since inception, the intent of the Department of the Army regarding this requirement has been that medical personnel must be personally present and under fire in order to be eligible for the awarding of the badge.  So stringent was this requirement during the Vietnam era that recommending officials were required to document the place (in six digit coordinates), time, type, and intensity of fire to which the proposed recipient was exposed.  This fact naturally precludes the awarding of the badge to those medical personnel who accompany infantry units into a potential engagement area but do not come under enemy fire.

11.  Over the years, there has been some confusion concerning the phrase "...in direct support of an infantry unit...."  The CMB is intended for, and awarded to, those medical personnel who accompany the infantryman into combat.  The
Army has never approved of deviations from this purpose and its restrictive criteria.  During the World War II era, medical support for infantry units in combat was provided by the medical detachments and companies of battalions and regiments.  These medical personnel and units were termed direct support.  This concept lasted until Vietnam.  Today, medical personnel are assigned as organic personnel to infantry companies and are regarded as participants as opposed to being categorized as those providing direct medical support.  For example, medical personnel serving in division level medical companies, ground ambulance and medical clearing companies, mobile-Army surgical hospital (MASH), combat-support hospital (CSH), field hospitals, and aero-medical evacuation units are not eligible for the CMB.  The sole criteria that qualify medical personnel for award of the CMB is to be assigned or attached to an infantry unit engaged in active ground combat.  Medical personnel other than those medics organic to infantry units may qualify only if they serve as medical personnel accompanying infantrymen.  Conceivably, this could occur if an infantry unit lost all its medics and as a temporary or permanent measure medical personnel were attached to an infantry unit, but remained assigned to a hospital or other non-infantry unit.




DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence of record shows the applicant served as a medical specialist during his assignment in the Republic of Vietnam.  He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Armored Cavalry, 1st Infantry 
Division.  However, there is no evidence that shows he was assigned or attached by appropriate orders to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size, or to a medical unit of company or smaller size, organic to an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period the infantry unit was engaged in actual ground combat.

2.  The statement provided by the applicant’s former commander indicates the applicant served as a medic assigned to an armored cavalry troop and was frequently under fire while performing his duties.

3.  The Army recognized the injustice of not awarding the CMB to combat medics in armor or cavalry units, and as the former squadron commander suggested, the military awards regulation was changed effective 16 January 1991 to show that medical personnel assigned or attached to armor and ground cavalry units of brigade or smaller size, who satisfactorily perform medical duties while the unit is engaged in actual ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire are entitled to award of the CMB.  However, the regulation specifically provides retroactive awards under these criteria are not authorized prior to 16 January 1991.

4.  With respect to counsel’s arguments:

	a.  Award of the CMB is based on a determination that he was not assigned or attached to a medical unit of company or smaller size that was organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regiment, or smaller size.  The word "smaller size" after the word "or" indicates "company size" since a "company" is the smallest Army element to be given a designation or affiliation with higher headquarters at battalion or brigade level.  Therefore, the intent is for the Soldier to be (a) assigned or attached, and (b) to a medical squad, platoon, or company that was organic (forming an integral element of a whole) to an infantry unit of brigade, or battalion, or smaller size (e.g. company), during the period the infantry unit is engaged in actual combat.  

	b.  Notwithstanding the medical officer’s statement and evidence that the squadron surgeon and two other members of the squadron were awarded the CMB, each case is assessed and stands on its own merits.  Given the regulatory 
prohibition against retroactive awards to armored cavalry medics and the statement by the former squadron commander that other medics in his squadron did not receive the CMB, it appears the applicant's non-receipt of the badge was consistent with policy in effect at the time.  If the squadron surgeon was awarded a CMB, such award was not in accordance with regulations then in effect.

	c.  The ABCMR’s jurisdiction under 10 USC 1552 extends to any military record of the Department of the Army.  It is the nature of the record and the status of the applicant that defines the ABCMR’s jurisdiction.  The ABCMR decides cases based on the evidence of record.  It is not an investigative body.  Applicants must file within 3 years after an alleged error or injustice is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.  However, the ABCMR may waive this requirement in meritorious situations.

	d.  The ABCMR corrects military records based on the evidence of record regardless of the significance or insignificance of the correction sought by an applicant.  Additionally, the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.

	e.  The applicant’s dedication to duty, professionalism, and sacrifices are well documented and are not in question.  However, there was never any regulatory intention to award the CMB to all medical personnel who served in a combat zone or imminent danger area.

	f.  Award of the CMB stemmed from a requirement to recognize the sacrifices of medical aid men who shared the same hazards and hardships of ground combat on a daily basis with the infantry.  That is why, under today's revised standards, medics assigned to combat aviation units are disqualified from award of the CMB; they do not suffer the same hardships as a medic assigned to a ground combat unit.

5.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant 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 this requirement.







BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__le____  __jrs___  __lwr___  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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2003098538, on 18 May 2004.



							Lester Echols
______________________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
YYYYMMDD
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.