IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 May 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100025258 


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 removal of the entry, "SUBJECT TO ACTIVE DUTY RECALL BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY" from his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty).

2.  The applicant states he retired from the U.S. Army after completing more than 20 years of active service and he has been assigned a 70 percent (%) disability rating percentage by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

   a.  He states current Department of Defense (DoD) policy requires DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) samples to be kept for 50 years.

   b.  He has learned that the only way for him to get a confirmed destruction of his DNA sample held on file at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) is by removing the [above referenced] statement from item 18 (Remarks) of his
DD Form 214.  He adds that it is his DNA sample, not the property of the U.S. Government, and he wants it destroyed.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his VA disability rating.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant served on active duty in the Regular Army in military occupational specialty 18E (Special Forces Communications Sergeant).  He was promoted to the rank/grade of sergeant first class (SFC)/E-7 on 1 April 2001.


2.  The applicant was honorably retired on 31 October 2009 based on sufficient service for retirement and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Retired).  His DD Form 214 for the period ending 31 October 2009 shows:

   a.  he completed 20 years, 5 months, and 5 days of creditable active service.

	b.  in Item 18 the entry, "SUBJECT TO ACTIVE DUTY RECALL BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY."

3.  In support of his request the applicant provides a copy of a VA Regional Office, San Diego, CA, letter, dated 3 February 2010, and VA Rating Decision, dated 27 January 2010, that show the VA assigned the applicant an overall or combined rating of 70% for service-connected conditions related to his military service.

4.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations - Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribes the separation documents that must be prepared for Soldiers on retirement, discharge, release from active duty service, or control of the Active Army.  Chapter 2, paragraph 2-4, contains item-by-item instructions for completing the DD Form 214.  It states for Item 18, use this block for entries required by Headquarters, Department of the Army, for which a separate block is not available and for completing entries too long for their blocks.  It also states, in pertinent part, for a Soldier retiring for length of service, enter "SUBJECT TO ACTIVE DUTY RECALL BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY."

5.  DoD Instruction Number 5154.30 (Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Operations), dated 18 March 2003, implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for the administration and management of the AFIP.  Enclosure E2 (The AFME [Armed Forces Medical Examiner] System) shows the AFIP shall support the AFME System subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)), including operations governed by Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1471, and other applicable authorities.  It states:

	a.  The Armed Forces Repository of Specimen Samples for the Identification of Remains (AFRSSIR) shall store biological reference specimens suitable for DNA analysis, as necessary for human remains identification, and maintain an automated indexing system to assist in the retrieval of those specimens.

	b.  The AFRSSIR shall implement special rules and procedures to ensure the protection of privacy interests in the specimen samples and any DNA analysis of those samples.
	c.  A routine destruction schedule shall be followed, under which samples shall be retained for not more than 50 years.  The AFIP shall establish and maintain a procedure under which individual specimen samples shall be destroyed at the request of the donor following the conclusion by the donor of complete military service or other applicable relationship to the DoD.  (Complete military service is not limited to active duty service; it includes all service as a member of the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve, the Standby Reserve, the Retired Reserve, or the Retired Regular Permanent.)  On receipt of such a request, the AFIP has 180 days to destroy the sample and send notification to the donor.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends his DD Form 214 should be corrected by removing the entry, "SUBJECT TO ACTIVE DUTY RECALL BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY" because he wants the AFIP to destroy his DNA specimen sample.

2.  Records show the applicant retired from active duty after completing more than 20 years of total active service and he was transferred to the USAR Control Group (Retired).

3.  The governing Army regulation states that for a Soldier retiring for length of service enter, "SUBJECT TO ACTIVE DUTY RECALL BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY" in item 18 of the DD Form 214.  Thus, the entry in item 18 is correct.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.

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)                                         AR20100025258



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100025258



2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1