IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 July 2008
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080008200
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 that he be awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he was wounded on 20 March 2005 when his striker was destroyed by a car bomb, knocking him unconscious and damaging his right ear. His medical records are missing but the incident should be recorded in the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Brigade unit archives.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty).
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant entered active duty on 14 August 2001, completed training, and was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Infantryman).
2. The applicant's iPERMS (interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System) does not contain any medical records or any documentation that indicates the receipt of any wounds or injuries. The iPERMS record does not contain any documentation of the applicant's duty assignments except as listed on his DD Form 214.
3. The applicant was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) on 31 December 2005. He had completed 4 years, 4 months, and 17 days of creditable service.
4. The applicants DD Form 214 shows the following pertinent information:
a. the applicant's authorized awards are the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Combat Infantryman Badge; and
b. he served in Iraqi and Kuwait during Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom from 14 October 2004 through 1 October 2005.
5. Army Regulation 600-8-4 (Line of Duty Policy, Procedures, and Investigations) states that line of duty determinations are essential for protecting the interest of both the individual concerned and the U.S. Government where service is interrupted by injury, disease, or death. Line of duty (LOD) investigations are conducted essentially to arrive at a determination of whether misconduct or negligence was involved in the disease, injury, or death and, if so, to what degree. Depending on the circumstances of the case, an LOD investigation may or may not be required to make this determination such as in the case of injuries clearly incurred as a result of enemy action or attack by terrorists.
6. Army Regulation 15185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records), prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). The ABCMR is not an investigative body and it will decide cases on the available record.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards. It states that the Purple Heart is awarded to an individual who is wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, the armed force of a foreign country which is or has been engaged, while serving with a friendly foreign forces against an opposing force even though the U.S. is not engaged, as the result of any act of such enemy or opposing force or as a result an act of any hostile foreign force. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant nor the personnel record provides sufficient justification for award of the PH. The ABCMR is not an investigative agency. If the applicant believes that there may be supportive documentation to show he incurred a combat incurred wound it is his responsibility to obtain those documents for submission to the ABCMR.
2. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, 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
___X ___ ___X____ ___X____ 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.
_______ _ X_______ ___
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.
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