IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  8 February 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100019202 


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 item 1 (Name) of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected to reflect the correct spelling of her middle name and item 11 (Primary Specialty Number Title, Years and Months in Specialty) be corrected by adding military occupational specialty (MOS) 71L (Administrative Specialist).  

2.  The applicant states the spelling of her middle name on her DD Form 214 incorrectly lists her middle name using the letter “i” as the fifth letter and it should be the letter “e.”  She also states MOS 71L should be added to item 11.  

3.  The applicant provides no 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 she enlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) for 8 years on 19 January 1988.  The DD Form 4 (Enlistment/ Reenlistment Document) and associated documents, including a DA Form 3540/4 (Statement of Acknowledgment and Understanding) and a DD Form 372 (Application for Verification of Birth for Official US Armed Forces Use Only), all use the spelling of her middle name using the letter "i" as the fifth letter.  The applicant authenticated these documents with her signature on 19 January 1969.  

3.  On 10 February 1988, the applicant entered active duty to complete her initial active duty for training (IADT).  She completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and advanced individual training (AIT) in MOS 77F (Petroleum Supply Specialist) at Fort Lee, Virginia.  

4.  The applicant’s record contains Headquarters, U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and Fort Lee Orders 109-31, dated 8 June 1988, which awarded her MOS 77F, effective 29 June 1988, or upon completion of training.  

5.  On 29 June 1988, upon completion of IADT, the applicant was released from active duty (REFRAD) after completing 4 months and 20 days of active service.  Item 1 of the DD Form 214 she was issued at the time lists her middle name using the letter “i” as the fifth letter, and the only MOS listed in item 11 is 77F.  

6.  The applicant continued to serve in the USAR until she was honorably discharged, in the rank of private/E-2, on 18 January 1996.  Her USAR discharge orders, dated 23 January 1996, use the letter i” as the fifth letter of her middle name.  There is no indication the applicant questioned the spelling of her middle name at anytime prior to her USAR discharge.

7.  Item 35 (Record of Assignments) of the applicant’s DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record) shows she worked in duty MOS 71L from 21 August 1989 through 3 March 1991.  Her record is void of entries, orders or other documents indicating she was ever formally awarded this MOS by proper authority during her military service.  

8.  The applicant’s record also contains a DA Form 2-1 prepared on 
6 September 1989 that shows her middle name is spelled using the letter “i” as the fifth letter.  Item 6 (Military Occupational Specialties) lists only MOS 77F (Petroleum Supply Specialist).  This record was authenticated by the applicant with her signature on the date it was prepared and she last reviewed the record on 27 April 1991.  




9.  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 stipulates 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request that her DD Form 214 be changed to reflect her middle name is spelled using the letter “e” as the fifth letter instead of the letter “i”; and that MOS 71L should be added to item 11 has been carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support this request.  

2.  By regulation, 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 REFRAD.  There are no provisions for adding information or accomplishments attained subsequent to REFRAD on a previously-issued DD Form 214.  

3.  The record shows the applicant served in an active duty status to complete her training and she was separated using the spelling of the middle name that currently appears on her DD Form 4, DA Form 2-1, and all documents on file in her record.  It also confirms she was never awarded MOS 71L by proper authority during her military service and that she only performed duties in this MOS many years after she had been REFRAD and the DD Form 214 in question had been issued.  Therefore, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief. 

4.  Absent any evidence to confirm the applicant attempted to change the spelling of her middle name while she was serving in an active status it is presumed she voluntarily chose to serve using the middle name recorded in her military records.  The Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records.  The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created.  There appears to be no compelling reason to compromise the integrity of the Army’s records by changing the spelling of her middle name at this late date.



5.  This Record of Proceedings, along with the application and supporting documents will be filed in her military record in order to provide clarity regarding the difference in the spelling of her middle name in her records and the one she is now using.  Filing the Board’s decisional document will also guarantee the historical accuracy of the applicant's military record regarding the name under which she served.

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)                                         AR20100019202



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100019202



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