IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  27 May 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090004752 


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 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 the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC) official processing his paperwork upon his entering civilian federal service indicated service which qualifies for the Korea Defense Service Medal counts toward computation of leave accrual rates for veterans entering civilian federal service.  However, the official indicated, in effect, that since the specific dates of his service in the Republic of Korea are not entered on his DD Form 214 the CPAC could not award him credit toward "Creditable Service for Leave Accrual" at the beginning of his service as a civilian federal employee.  By correcting his Korean service on his DD Form 214, the applicant would be able to have his service in the Republic of Korea applied to his service computation date as a Department of Defense civilian.  

3.  The applicant provides a DD Form 214, copy of a DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), and a DA Form 4037 (Officer Record Brief) in support of this application.






CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's electronic military personnel record shows he was appointed a Regular Army Aviation officer in the Army of the United States in the grade of Second Lieutenant on 27 May 1987 at West Point, New York.
2.  On 31 May 2009, the applicant was released from active duty with sufficient years of 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 creditable active service and 5 years, 11 months, and 24 days of foreign service.  It also shows that the applicant was awarded the Korea Defense Service Medal.

3.  Item 18 (Remarks) of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows deployed service in Southwest Asia during the period 24 December 1990 to 16 May 1991; in Somalia during the period 16 August 1993 to 15 January 1994; in Haiti during the period 2 August 1994 to 1 November 1994; and in Afghanistan during the period 31 January 2006 to 4 February 2007.  Item 18 does not show service in the Republic of Korea.

4.  The applicant's Officer Record Brief shows he was assigned to units in Korea during the period 18 August 2000 through about 12 June 2003.

5.  The DA Form 638 submitted by the applicant shows that he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster) for the period 19 August 2000 to 25 June 2003.

6.  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 is to be taken from the Enlisted Record Brief or Officer Record Brief and recorded in item 12f (Foreign Service).  Further, this regulation provides that an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit during their continuous period of active duty will have item 18 annotated with "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD- YYYYMMDD)."

7.  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 should be corrected to show he served in the Republic of Korea from 19 August 2000 to 25 June 2003.  While the exact dates of the applicant's assignment to Korea cannot be verified without assignment orders, it can be conclusively stated that he served in Korea from 19 August 2000 to 12 June 2003.  He may have served in Korea longer than this, but any service in excess to these dates cannot be conclusively verified.

2.  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.  Soldiers are routinely assigned (not deployed) to the Republic of Korea on individual permanent change of station orders.

3.  There is no regulatory policy that allows the DD Form 214 to be corrected to show the specific dates and geographic locations of all foreign service tours.   As such, there is no provision to correct the applicant's DD Form 214 to show his foreign service tour in the Republic of Korea.

4.  The Board does not correct a properly constituted DD Form 214 to establish an applicant's eligibility for jobs or benefits.  However, the applicant may use this Record of Proceedings as verification that he served in Korea from 19 August 2000 to 12 June 2003.

5.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy that 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.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004752



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004752



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