IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  28 May 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080019262 


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, that his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected to show his foreign service tour in the Republic of Korea.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his assignment history on his Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) is incorrect and he needs his record corrected to show his service in the Republic of Korea, specifically so his Standard Form 813 (Verification of a Military Retiree's Service) can be accurately prepared by Human Resources Command.  By correcting his assignment history, the applicant will be able to have his service in the Republic of Korea applied to his service computation date as a Department of Defense civilian.  He states that he served in the Republic of Korea from 15 October 1991 to 14 October 1992 and has tried numerous times while on active duty to correct his assignment history with no success.  He concludes his statement by stating that the National Personnel Records Center rejected his claim for credit of a foreign service tour in the Republic of Korea.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award) and his Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) certificate, both dated 8 September 1992 in support of his application.  The DA Form 638 shows the applicant was awarded the ARCOM for the period 15 October 1991 to 14 October 1992 for his performance of duties while assigned to Company A, 5th Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Camp Eagle, Republic of Korea.


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's electronic military personnel record shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 27 August 1984.  He completed basic combat and advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty 67Y (Attack Helicopter Repairer).

2.  On 31 August 2006, the applicant separated when he reached a sufficient number of year's service for retirement and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Retired).  The DD Form 214 he was issued on this date shows that he had completed 22 years and 4 days of net active service and that within this continuous period of service he served 10 years, 7 months, and 15 days in qualifying foreign service areas.

3.  Item 18 (Remarks) of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows that he served in Ecuador from 28 June 1997 to 18 November 1997 and in Iraq from 10 March 2003 to 8 March 2004.  Item 18 does not show service in the Republic of Korea.

4.  The applicant's ERB shows an incomplete assignment history and no copy of a manually prepared DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) was found in his official military personnel record.

5.  On 14 April 2009, the applicant submitted an electronic communication request to the ABCMR requesting that his DD Form 214 be corrected to show his period of service in the Republic of Korea.  The applicant had been informed by staff at the ABCMR that the ERB is a management tool used by commanders and personnel managers to manage the careers of enlisted personnel and not a document of record that is corrected by the ABCMR.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/
Records) prescribes the policies governing the official military personnel file, the military personnel records jacket, the career management individual file, and Army personnel qualification records.  The ERB is an automated data form containing personal information, military qualification skills, training, and assignment history.  The ERB is a management tool used by commanders and personnel managers in the performance of their duties regarding the utilization of Soldiers.

7.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), provides detailed instructions for completing separation documents, including the DD Form 214.  It provides, in pertinent part, that the total amount of foreign service completed during the period covered by the DD Form 214 will be recorded in item 12f (Foreign Service).  The source document used in preparation of the DD Form 214 is the ERB or Officer Record Brief.  Further, this regulation provides that an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit will have item 18 annotated with "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (INCLUSIVE DATES OF SERVICE IN FORMAT YYYYMMDD)."

8.  Army Regulation 15-185 (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 ABCMR.  The regulation provides that 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends, in effect, that his DD Form 214 with a separation date of 31 August 2006 does not accurately reflect his period of service in the Republic of Korea.  He contends that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show he served in the Republic of Korea from 15 October 1991 to 14 October 1992.

2.  While the applicant's DA Form 638 for the ARCOM conclusively verifies that he served in Korea from 15 October 1991 to 14 October 1992, without assignment orders it is impossible to determine whether he served in Korea for longer than this period.
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3.  There are no regulatory guidelines that allow the DD Form 214 to be corrected to show the specific geographic locations of all foreign service tours.  The regulatory guidelines specifically state that for active duty Soldiers who deploy with their unit, the country of their deployment location and the dates of deployment will be entered on their DD Form 214.

4.  Soldiers are routinely reassigned to the Republic of Korea on individual permanent change of station orders.  While assigned to the Republic of Korea, Soldiers do not routinely collect hazardous duty pay.  When the applicant deployed with his unit to Iraq in March 2003, his unit was directed to report to the Iraq theater of operations through the publication of Department of the Army unit temporary change of station orders.  When deployed to Iraq, Soldiers are entitled to hazardous duty pay for their period of service in an imminent danger zone.

5.  As there is no provision to correct the applicant's DD Form 214 to show his foreign service tour in the Republic of Korea, the applicant's DD Form 214 as published is presumed to be correct.
6.  Although there is no provision to correct the applicant's DD Form 214, this Record of Proceedings may be used as an official record to verify his assignment to and general dates of assignment to Korea.

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)                                         AR20080019262



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080019262



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