IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  30 March 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090017094 


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 award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he should be awarded the CIB in recognition of his service in the Republic of Vietnam while assigned to Battery C, 6th Battalion, 26th Artillery Regiment, 2nd Field Force Vietnam, during the period March 1968 to 1970.

3.  The applicant provides a DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) as documentary evidence 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's record shows he enlisted in the Regular Army and entered active duty on 5 April 1968.  He completed basic combat and advanced individual training.  Upon completion of training he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 76Y (Unit and Organization Supply Specialist).  The highest rank he attained while serving on active duty was the rank/grade of specialist five/E-5. 
He served 2 years, 11 months, and 22 days prior to being honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement) to complete his remaining Reserve obligation.

3.  The applicant's enlistment documents show he specifically enlisted for MOS 76Y.

4.  Item 31 (Foreign Service) of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) and item 30 (Remarks) of his DD Form 214 show he served in the Republic of Vietnam from 27 August 1968 through 22 August 1969.

5.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of the applicant's DA Form 20 shows he was assigned for duty as a 76Y to Battery C, 6th Battalion, 26th Artillery Regiment, for the duration of his tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam.

6.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of the applicant's DA Form 20 does not show award of the CIB.  A review of the applicant's official records fails to show that he was ever awarded or recommended for award of the CIB.

7.  A review of the applicant's official records fails to show that he held an infantry MOS and performed the duties of an infantryman in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during this period of enlistment.  His primary MOS and duty MOS consistently appear as 76Y throughout this period of service.

8.  Department of the Army Office of the Adjutant General U.S. Army Reserve Components Personnel and Administration Center, St. Louis, Missouri, Letter Orders Number 02-1046443, dated 27 February 1974; show the applicant was discharged on 1 March 1974.  These orders also show his MOS was 76Y at the time of his discharge.

9.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System (ADCARS), an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the CIB.

10.  U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Awards and Decorations) specifically governed award of the Combat Infantryman Badge to Army forces operating in South Vietnam.  This regulation specifically stated that criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge identified the man who trained, lived, and fought as an infantryman and the Combat Infantryman Badge is the unique award established to recognize the infantryman and only the infantryman for his service. 
Further, "the Combat Infantryman Badge is not an award for being shot at or for undergoing the hazards of day-to-day combat."  This regulation also stated the Combat Infantryman Badge was authorized for award to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS and required that they must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.  The regulation stated that the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11D, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

11.  All Soldiers are provided basic combat skills training after they enter the Army.  This is provided to ensure that all Soldiers have the survival skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arises.  No other Soldier in combat is more exposed on a daily basis to the dangers and hardships of war and no other branch of the service suffers more casualties than the infantry.  To maintain the prestige, uniqueness, and traditional value of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the criteria for the award has changed little over the years. While the exigencies of combat may require non-infantry Soldiers to temporarily perform the basic infantry duties that all Soldiers are taught, it does not serve as a basis for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that his record should be corrected to show that he was awarded the CIB for his service in the Republic of Vietnam was carefully considered.

2.  The applicant's official military personnel file is void of any orders or other documents indicating that he was ever recommended for or awarded the CIB by proper authority while serving on active duty.  The CIB is not included in the list of awards contained in item 41 of his DA Form 20.  Additionally, a review of the ADCARS database failed to reveal any orders for the CIB.

3.  By regulation, in order to support award of the CIB, there must not only be evidence that a member served in an infantry MOS in an infantry unit, but also that he was personally present and participated with the qualifying infantry unit while it was engaged in active ground combat with enemy forces.

4.  The applicant did not possess an infantry MOS and did not perform the duties of an infantryman in an infantry unit while engaged in active ground combat with enemy forces.  Accordingly, he is not entitled to award of the CIB.

5.  In order to justify correction of a military record, the applicant must show or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant did not submit any evidence that would satisfy this requirement.  This action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.

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)                                         AR20090017094



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090017094



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