BOARD DATE: 6 September 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110004158
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 24 (Character of Service) of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) for the period ending
27 November 1991 be corrected to honorable.
2. The applicant states she received an honorable discharge but her DD Form 214 states her discharge was uncharacterized.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214 for the period ending 27 November 1991
* U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) discharge orders, dated 17 November 1998
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. She enlisted in the USAR on 17 November 1990 for a period of 8 years. She was ordered to active duty on 6 August 1991 for training. On 27 November 1991, she was released from active duty and transferred to the USAR to complete her remaining service obligation. Her character of service was uncharacterized.
3. Item 24 of the applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 27 November 1991 shows the entry "UNCHARACTERIZED."
4. She was honorably discharged from the USAR on 17 November 1998.
5. Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations) sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 4 provides for the discharge or release from active duty upon termination of enlistment and other periods of active duty or active duty for training. The regulation states that a separation will be described as an entry-level separation with service uncharacterized if processing is initiated while a Soldier is in an entry-level status. Entry-level status is defined as the first 180 days of continuous active duty.
6. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214 and states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant's contention her character of service on her DD Form 214 for the period ending 27 November 1991 should be corrected to show honorable was noted.
2. The evidence shows she was ordered to active duty for training in 1991 for a period of 3 months and 22 days. Since she was in an entry-level status when she was released from active duty in 1991, her character of service was uncharacterized which is properly reflected in item 24 of her DD Form 214 for the period ending 27 November 1991. Therefore, there is no basis for granting her request.
3. An uncharacterized discharge is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier's military service. It merely means the Soldier has not been in the Army long enough for his or her character of service to be rated as honorable or otherwise.
4. The DD Form 214 is a "snapshot in time" and is a reflection of the applicant's record of active Army service at the time of her release from active duty. Evidence shows she was honorably discharged from the USAR in 1998,
7 years after her release from active duty on 27 November 1991.
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.
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