IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  10 March 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080018847 


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, in effect, award of the Combat Medical Badge and its addition to his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 91A, Medic, during Vietnam.  He was discharged as a 91B, Medical Specialist.  He also states, in effect, he should have been awarded the Combat Medical Badge and it would assist in his claim for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.  The VA would have to concede his stressors with this award.  He did not know this award could help him and it is very important that he gets this award.

3.  In support of his application, the applicant provides copies of his Certificate of Achievement; his DD Form 214, dated 4 April 1978; letters from the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center, Alexandria, Virginia; and his DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge).

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests, in effect, issuance of the Combat Medical Badge to the applicant if it is found he is entitled to this award. 

2.  Counsel states that the applicant is claiming PTSD based on the traumatic events he witnessed while treating the wounded.  This award will nullify the need for the VA to verify his stressor.

3.  Counsel provides no additional documentary evidence in support of the applicant's application.  

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant's military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army in pay grade E-1 on 25 November 1966.  He completed basic and advanced individual training and was awarded primary MOS (PMOS) 91B, Medical Specialist, and secondary MOS 63B, Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic.  He was discharged on 13 December 1967 for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He reenlisted on 14 December 1967.

3.  The applicant served in Vietnam from 19 August 1968 through 1 September 
1969.  He served in MOS 13A, Cannoneer/Ammunition Handler, with Battery C and Service Battery, 6th Battalion, 15th Artillery, from 22 August 1968 through 1 September 1969 while in Vietnam.  He was placed in a patient status and evacuated to Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, California, on 1 September 1969.  His records do not show he was wounded as a result of enemy action.

4.  There is no entry in item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) showing he was awarded the Combat Medical Badge.  There are no orders in the applicant's military personnel records awarding him the Combat Medical Badge.

5.  The applicant submits a copy of his Certificate of Achievement, dated 25 October 1972, awarded for exemplary performance as an Assistant Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Proctor for the Expert Field Medical Badge Testing from 7 August 1972 through 18 September 1972.

6.  The applicant was discharged in pay grade E-5 on 22 November 1973 for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He was issued a DD Form 214 that shows in item 23a (Specialty Number & Title) he held the MOS 91B, Medical Specialist.  Item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not list the Combat Medical Badge.

7.  The applicant reenlisted on 23 November 1975 and served continuously until he was honorably discharged on 4 April 1978 for disability with severance pay.  He was issued a DD Form 214 that does not list the Combat Medical Badge in his list of awards.

8.  The applicant's records contain documentation, dated 21 January 1983, from the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency to the ABCMR advising that on 14 July 1969, while loading crates in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, the applicant fell under the tires of a truck, suffering a closed fracture of the right femur which was treated with traction.

9.  In letters, dated 31 May 1993, the Chief, Reclassification and Physical Disability Branch, U.S. Army Military Personnel Center, Alexandria, advised the applicant that his Army records had been corrected in accordance with the directive of the ABCMR to show that he was released from active duty on 4 April 1978 and was permanently retired by reason of physical disability, rated 30 percent disabling, with entitlement to retired pay in the pay grade of E-5.

10.  On 24 June 1983, the applicant was issued a DD Form 215, amending his separation document to show he was separated from active duty for retirement by reason of physical disability on 4 April 1978.

11.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System records of the applicant's units for the time frame the applicant served in Vietnam was conducted.  This review failed to show that any orders were published awarding the applicant the Combat Medical Badge.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), in effect at the time, stated special provisions for award of the Combat Medical Badge during the Vietnam conflict.  Those provisions permitted award of the Combat Medical Badge to Soldiers assigned to a Vietnamese unit engaged in actual ground combat or as a member of a U.S. Army infantry unit of brigade or smaller size including Special Forces detachments serving with Republic of Vietnam units engaged in actual ground combat.  The special provisions required that the Soldier must have been personally present and under hostile fire while assigned as specified.  The Combat Medical Badge was designed to provide recognition to the field medic who accompanied the infantryman into battle and shared with them the experiences unique to the infantry in combat.  There was never any intention to award the Combat Medical Badge to all medical personnel who served in a combat zone or imminent danger area.  Since inception, the intent of the Department of the Army regarding the requirement is that the infantry unit to which the medical personnel was assigned or attached must have engaged the enemy in active ground combat and that medical personnel must have been personally presented and under fire in to be eligible for the awarding of this badge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he suffers from PTSD due to him serving as a Medic during Vietnam and should be awarded the Combat Medical Badge.  However, there is no record to show he participated in direct or indirect combat operations while serving in Vietnam as a Medic.  The evidence also does not show he was ever recommended for or awarded the Combat Medical Badge by proper authority.  

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded PMOS 91B, Medical Specialist.  While he contends, in effect, that while serving in Vietnam he served as a combat Medic in MOS 91A, his records do not show he served in MOSs 91A or 91B during his period of service in Vietnam.  The evidence shows he served in MOS 13A Cannoneer/Ammunition Handler during his period of service in Vietnam.  Neither the evidence submitted with the application nor the evidence of record supports his requests or establishes his entitlement to award of the Combat Medical Badge and its addition to his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant's records also do not show he was awarded or received any awards for valor or achievement that would indicate he was exposed to active ground combat against the enemy during his service in Vietnam.  In any case, he was assigned to an artillery unit, not an infantry unit, and therefore does not meet the eligibility criteria for award of the Combat Medical Badge.

4.  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.

5.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.


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.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080018847



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080018847



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