IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  18 February 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090009400 


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 correction of item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM).  He also requests correction of item 18 (Remarks) of his DD Form 214 to show his service in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 7 September 1998 to 17 March 1999.

2.  The applicant states that he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina with Company C, 20th Engineer, 1st Cavalry Division from 7 September 1998 to
17 March 1999 attached to Task Force 2-8 Cavalry on Camp Bedrock, Multi-National Division North.  He contends that when he was separated from active duty his Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) and his DD Form 214 were not updated by his unit.  He indicates that he cannot display his medals he earned without this action.

3.  The applicant provides a memorandum, dated 2 April 2009, from his commanding officer at the time in question and a copy of his DD Form 214 in support of his 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 enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 2 October 1997.  He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 12B (combat engineer).  He was released from active duty on 1 October 2000 and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining service obligation.

3.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Army Lapel Button, Army Service Ribbon, Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade Bar, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.  Item 18 on his DD Form 214 does not show any deployments.

4.  Records at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) show the applicant received hostile fire/imminent danger pay (HF/IDP) while deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina from 19 September 1998 to 18 March 1999.

5.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided a memorandum, dated 2 April 2009, from his commanding officer at the time in question.  He attests that the applicant was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina from on or about 7 September 1998 to 17 March 1999 and that the applicant was awarded the NATO Medal and the AFEM.

6.  The NATO Medal is awarded by the Secretary-General of NATO to military and civilian members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participate in designated NATO operations.  Acceptance of the NATO Medal has been approved for U.S. military personnel who serve under NATO command or operational control in direct support of operations related to Kosovo from 
13 October 1998 to a date to be determined.  In June 2006, the U. S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) dispatched a message which constituted approval for eligible Soldiers to accept and wear the NATO Medal.



7.  MILPER Message Number 00-202 approved the acceptance and wear of the NATO Medal for operations related to Kosovo from 13 October 1998 to a date to be determined for 30 days (continuous or accumulated) in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).  FRY is Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia; Albania, Macedonia, and the Adriatic and Ionian Seas; or 90 days (continuous or accumulated) in direct support of NATO operations within the territories of Italy, Greece, and Hungary.  The NATO Secretary-General offered a second NATO Medal for Kosovo; however, only one NATO Medal is authorized for wear by U.S. military personnel.  Service members who were awarded the NATO Medal for operations relating to the Republic of Yugoslavia and the NATO Medal for operations relating to Kosovo will wear a bronze service star on the NATO Medal.

8.  The HRC website, which contains a "frequently asked questions" section concerning military awards for Army members, notes that to add the NATO Medal to a Soldier’s record the Soldier must have been issued a certificate and refers Soldiers to the June 2006 authorizing message for procedures to secure the certificate.  That message indicated Soldiers should submit a request to the USNMR (United States National Military Representative) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Belgium:  usnmr@beneluz.army.mil if their certificate was lost or if requesting a replacement certificate.  Soldiers were advised to include their social security number, name, rank, nationality, service, unit, location, periods of service, and the number of days deployed in their request.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is authorized for participants in military operations within a specific geographic area during a specified time period.  An individual, who was not engaged in actual combat or equally hazardous activity, must have participated in operations or in direct support of operations for          30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days.  Table 2-3 of this regulation authorizes this award for service in Operations Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard during the period 1 June 1992 through 20 June 1998 in Bosnia and Croatia only.

10.  Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army.  It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214.  The regulation states, in pertinent part, that the country and dates of deployment for an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit during their continuous period of active service will be shown in item 18 on the DD Form 214.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the applicant’s service in Bosnia-Herzegovina appears to meet the eligibility requirements for award of the NATO Medal, in the absence of the required certificate there is insufficient evidence on which to base correcting his record to show the award.  The applicant is advised to submit a request for a certificate via the procedures outlined in paragraph 8 above.  Once the applicant secures the certificate he may then submit a new request to this Board for reconsideration.

2.  Although the applicant contends that he served in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 
7 September 1998 to 17 March 1999, DFAS records show he was deployed from 19 September 1998 to 18 March 1999.  Based on his service in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he is eligible for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this award.

3.  DFAS records which show the applicant served in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 19 September 1998 to 18 March 1999 is accepted as sufficient evidence on which to amend item 18 on his DD Form 214 to show this deployment.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____x____  ____x____  ____x____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

   a.  adding to item 13 of his DD Form 214 the AFEM; and
   
   b.  adding to item 18 of his DD Form 214 the entry "SERVICE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA FROM 19980919 – 19990318."



2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to award of the NATO Medal and amending item 18 of his DD Form 214 to show he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina from 7 September 1998 to 17 March 1999.



      ___________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)                                         AR20090009400



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090009400



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