IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 May 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100027964
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. He states, in effect, that his assignment as a radio/telephone operator (RTO) with the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) makes him eligible for the CIB.
3. He provides a self-authored statement.
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 applicants 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 applicants 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 on 23 January 1967. He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty 13A (Field Artillery Basic) and later served in MOS 13B (Cannon Crewmember). He was honorably released from active duty on 22 January 1970 after completing 3 years of total active service.
3. Item 31 (Foreign Service) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows he was credited with service in Vietnam from 5 December 1967 to 28 November 1968.
4. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 shows he was assigned to two units during his service in Vietnam:
* Battery C, 6th Battalion, 11th Artillery, 11th Infantry Brigade, from 5 December 1967 to 22 September 1968 with principal duty as a field artillery crewman and artillery recorder
* Battery C, 1st Battalion, 82d Artillery from 23 September 1968 to the end of his tour with principal duty as an RTO
5. His record contains special orders showing he and several other members of Battery C, 6th Battalion, 11th Artillery were assigned to Battery C, 1st Battalion, 82d Artillery, effective 23 September 1968.
6. His record is void of documentation showing he was assigned to MACV.
His record is also void of documentation showing he was awarded the CIB.
7. A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer Assisted Retrieval System, an index of general orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal orders awarding the CIB to him.
8. In a statement provided with his application, the applicant indicated that he served with 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, as an RTO and forward observer, but he was not eligible for the CIB because of his MOS. In May 1968 he was sent back to Battery C, 6th Battalion, 11th Artillery, to allow his infected feet to heal. After his feet healed, he and several other Soldiers were sent to MACV to work as RTOs in conjunction with the 2d Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. This duty involved spending time in the field with advisors as RTOs performing the same duties as American infantry units. When the operation ended after about
4 months, he returned to his original unit. During a recent reunion of his original unit, he learned RTOs serving under MACV were authorized award of the CIB.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states that during the Vietnam Conflict, subsequent to 1 March 1961, any officer, warrant officer, or enlisted Soldier whose branch was other than infantry will be eligible for award of the CIB provided all of the requirements listed below have been met:
a. Assigned as advisor to an infantry unit, Ranger unit, infantry-type unit of the civil guard of regimental or smaller size, and/or infantry-type unit of the self-defense corps unit of regimental or smaller size of the Vietnamese government during any period such unit was engaged in actual ground combat.
b. Assigned as advisor of an irregular force comparable to the above infantry units under similar conditions.
c. Personally present and under fire while serving in an assigned primary duty as a member of a tactical advisory team while the unit participated in ground combat.
10. U.S. Army Vietnam Regulation 672-1 (Awards and Decorations) provided for award of the CIB. Appendix 3 to Annex A of this regulation listed advisor positions which qualified for award of the CIB. The regulation authorized award of the CIB to RTOs provided their primary duty was to accompany infantry or infantry-type units on tactical operations.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request for award of the CIB.
2. While the available documentation generally confirms his account of his service in Vietnam, it does not show definitively that he was assigned primary duty under MACV as an RTO accompanying infantry or infantry-type units on tactical operations. Further, the available documentation does not show he was personally present and under fire while performing such duty. Without such evidence, there is no basis for award of the CIB.
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) AR20100027964
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