IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	        19 August 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080006621


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests reconsideration of her earlier request that her service in Somalia be added to her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 3 February 1995.

2.  The applicant states that she served in Somalia and was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.  She adds that she is seeking service-connection for combat-related PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  Her records must show her service in a hostile zone (Somalia).  The VA, she states, has refused to accept her Armed Force Expeditionary Medal and post deployment questionnaire alone as evidence.

3.  The applicant provides copies of her November and December 1993 Leave and Earnings Statements (LES) in support of her application.

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 AR20050003409, on February 27, 2006.

2.  The applicant submitted copies of her November and December 1993 LES, which were not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, they are considered new evidence and as such warrants consideration by the Board.
3.  The applicant's records show she enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), on 22 September 1990.  She was subsequently ordered to active duty for training (ADT) on 28 February 1991, completed basic combat and advanced individual training, and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 71L (Administrative Specialist).  She was honorably released from ADT and was returned to her unit on 27 May 1991.

4.  The applicant's records further show she enlisted in the Regular Army for a period of 3 years on 12 February 1993, in the rank/grade of specialist (SPC)/E-4, for training and assignment in the MOS 57E (Laundry and Bath Specialist).  Furthermore, upon completion of her advanced individual training, she was assigned to the 240th Quartermaster Battalion, Fort Lee, Virginia, with a reporting date of 31 March 1993.

5.  Item 5 (Overseas Service), of the applicant's DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record), is blank, indicating she did not perform any foreign service. Furthermore, Item 35 (Record of Assignments), of the applicant's DA Form 2-1, shows she was assigned to the 16th Field Service Company, Fort Lee, on 13 April 1993, and that she remained assigned to this unit until she was honorably released from active duty, on 3 February 1995, due to non-retention on active duty.

6.  Item 12f (Foreign Service), of the applicant's DD Form 214, shows she had no foreign service for the period of her active duty service.  There is no entry in Item 18 (Remarks), of the applicant's DD Form 214, to show she was deployed with her unit in support of an overseas operation.

7.  Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows she was awarded the Army Achievement Medal (2nd Award); the National Defense Service Medal; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; the Army Service Ribbon; and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

8.  There are no documents in the applicant’s service personnel file or in her Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and the applicant provided none, to show that she was deployed to Somalia during the period of her enlistment.

9.  The applicant submitted copies of her November and December 2003 LES as follows:

	a.  her November 1993 LES shows she was authorized Foreign Duty Pay (FDP), effective 26 October 1993 and Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay  (HFP/IDP) for the entire months of October and November 1993; and
	b.  her December 1993 LES shows she was authorized FDP and HFP/IDP for the entire month of December 1993.

10.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff contacted the applicant's former company commander who confirmed via an electronic mail (email), dated 5 August 2008, that the 16th Field Service Company returned from deployment from Somalia on or around 24 December 1993 and that it was a holiday present for him and his Soldiers to return from deployment.

11.  Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay (HFP/IDP) is a military entitlement paid for any month [emphasis added] in which a Soldier was entitled to basic pay and in which he/she was:  subject to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines; on duty in an area in which he/she was in imminent danger of being exposed to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines and in which, during the period he/she was on duty in that area, other members of the uniformed services were subject to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines; killed, injured, or wounded by hostile fire, explosion of a hostile mine, or any other hostile action; or on duty in a foreign area in which he was subject to the threat of physical harm or imminent danger on the basis of civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions.  HFP/IDP is paid for the whole month regardless of the date the Soldier arrives in the HFP/IDP designated area.

12.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  The regulation directs, in pertinent part, that the purpose of the separation document is to provide the individual with documentary evidence of their military service.  It is important that information entered on the form should be complete and accurate.  The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty to include attendance at basic and advanced training and will be prepared for all personnel at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty.  

13.  Army Regulation 635-5 states, in pertinent part, that the "Remarks" block of the Soldier's DD Form 214 is used for mandatory requirements when a separate block is not available and as a continuation for entries in blocks 11 (Primary Specialty), 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), or 14 (Military Education).  For an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit during their continuous period of active service, enter the statement "Service in (Name of County Deployed) from (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD – YYYMMDD).”


14.  According to an unofficial website regarding the history of the 16th Field Service Company, on 8 October 1993, during a four-day weekend, at approximately 0930 hours, the 16th Field Service Company was alerted to deploy to Somalia from Fort Lee, VA.  The mission was to support a 1,800-Soldier task force with laundry and shower services.  This task force consisted of units from many different posts and included combat, combat support, and combat service support units.  On 28 October, the 16th touched down in Somalia and were met by members of the 13th Corps Support Battalion (CSB) from Fort Benning, GA, the 16th's new higher headquarters.  As the battalion and the 364th Supply and Service Company helped with transition to operational status, the 16th began to plan for mission support.  The 16th Soldiers supported a United Nations compound October-December 1993 in Mogadishu during Operation Restore Hope.  Once the personnel recall was complete, the unit commander briefed key leaders on the deployment and passed out loading instructions.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant served in an IDP/HFP area from 26 October 1993 to on or around 24 December 1993.  Furthermore, the applicant's records show she was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, most likely for service in Somalia because the only conflict that qualified Soldiers for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal during the applicant's service and/or period in question was Somalia.

2.  The applicant's November 1993 LES clearly shows she deployed on 26 October 1993.  Furthermore, the applicant's former company commander confirmed the date of return as on or around 24 December 1993.  Since HFP/IDP is paid for the whole month regardless of the date the Soldier arrives in and/or departs the HFP/IDP designated area and since the applicant received HFP/IDP for the entire month of December 1993, the 24 December 1993 date seems to be consistent with her pay records at DFAS.  Therefore, there is sufficient evidence to grant the applicant relief in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

__xxx___  __xxx___  __xxx___  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 amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20080006621, dated February 27, 2006.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  deleting the entry "0000  00  00" from Item 12f (Foreign Service) of the applicant's DD Form 214, dated 3 February 1995, and adding the entry         "0000 01  29"; and

	b.  adding the entry "Service in Somalia from 19931026 - 19931224" to Item 18 (Remarks) of the applicant's DD Form 214, dated 3 February 1995.


															XXX
      ______________________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.


ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006621



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006621



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