IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  29 April 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090014526 


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 Date Initially Entered Military Service (DIEMS) should be corrected to reflect 17 January 1983.  He also requests that item 12a (Date Entered Active Duty (AD) This Period) of his retirement DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected. 

2.  The applicant states the date he entered active duty in item 12a on his
31 August 2003 DD Form 214 is incorrectly listed as 2 August 1983, but he was serving in the United States Air Force on that date.  He also claims his DIEMS date should be 17 January 1983, the date he entered the Delayed Entry Program (DEP).  

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his application:

* DA Form 1506 (Statement of Service), dated 7 August 2009
* Release from active duty (REFRAD) and Retirement Orders
* DD Form 214 dated 31 August 2003
* National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) dated 17 February 1987
* DD Form 214 dated 3 December 1986
* United States Air Force (USAF) Enlistment/Active Duty Orders dated 15 March 1983
* DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document-Armed Forces of the United States) dated 17 January 1983


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's record shows he initially enlisted in the USAF Reserve (USAFR) DEP on 17 January 1983.  

2.  On 14 March 1983, he was discharged from the USAFR DEP, and on
15 March 1983 he enlisted in Regular Air Force and entered active duty in that status.  He served on active duty in the USAF for 3 years, 8 months, and 19 days until being honorably REFRAD and transferred to the USAFR on 3 December 1986.  He served in this Reserve status until 17 December 1986.

3.  On 18 February 1987, the applicant enlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) DEP and remained in that status until enlisting in the Regular Army and entering active duty in that status on 21 April 1987.  He continuously served on active duty in the RA for 16 years, 4 months and 11 days until being honorably retired on 31 August 2003.  

4.  The DD Form 214 issued to the applicant upon retirement on 31 August 2003 shows he entered active duty on 2 August 1983.  It also shows he completed a total of 20 years and 29 days of active military service.  

5.  Military Personnel (MILPER) Message Number 03-102, dated 26 February 2003, Subject: DIEMS Date Accuracy announced an HRC initiative to conduct an Army accuracy scrub to validate DIEMS.  DIEMS was defined as the date an individual was initially enlisted, inducted, or appointed in a Regular or Reserve Component of a Uniformed Service as a commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member.  It further indicated that “breaks in service would not affect the date someone first became a member.  It further indicated that the DIEMS of members of the DEP would be the date the enlistment contract was signed regardless of when the Soldier entered active duty.  

6.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents that must be prepared for Soldiers on retirement, discharge, release from active duty service, or control of the Active Army.  It also establishes standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  It states the DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge.  Chapter 2 contains item-by-item instructions for preparing the DD Form 214.  The instructions for item 12a are to enter the beginning date of the continuous period of active duty for which a DD Form 214 was not previously issued.  


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contentions that item 12a of his retirement DD Form 214 is incorrect and his DIEMS should be 17 January 1983, the date he entered the DEP in the USAFR, were carefully considered and found to have merit.  

2.  The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and Army policy define DIEMS as the date an individual was initially enlisted, inducted, or appointed in a Regular or Reserve Component of a Uniformed Service as a commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member.  It further stipulates the DIEMS of members of the DEP would be the date the enlistment contract was signed regardless of when the Soldier entered active duty.  

3.  The evidence of record in this case includes a signed enlistment contract that shows the applicant initially entered military service when he enlisted in the USAFR DEP on 17 January 1983, and this date should be his DIEMS.  

4.  By regulation, item 12a of a DD Form 214 should be the beginning date of the continuous period of active duty for which a DD Form 214 was not previously issued.  

5.  In this case, the record confirms a DD Form 214 was issued to the applicant covering his period of active duty service in the USAF from 15 March 1983 through 3 December 1986.  It further shows he entered active duty in the RA on 21 April 1987 and continuously served in that status until being honorably retired on 31 August 2003.  As a result, item 12a of his 31 August 2003 DD Form 214 should be corrected to reflect a date of 21 April 1987, the date he began the period of active duty covered by the DD Form 214. 

BOARD VOTE:

____X___  ____X___  ___X____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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

	a.  amending the DFAS record to show his Date Initially Entered Military Service (DIEMS) as 17 January 1983;

	b.  deleting the current entry in item 12a of his 31 August 2003 DD Form 214 and replacing it with the entry "1987  04  21"; and 

   c.  providing him a correction to his DD Form 214 that reflects the above changes. 



      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20090014526



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090014526



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