IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  1 September 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110012928 


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 that the General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR), dated 22 September 2006, be removed from the performance portion of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and remain in the restricted portion of his OMPF.  

2.  He states he received a field grade Article 15 when he was an E-5 in Kitzingen, Germany for operating a motorized vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.  He states he/his:

* chain of command/noncommissioned officer (NCO) support channel had given a safety brief covering the weekend
* did have a [safety] plan and he stood by his plan until the area/situation became dangerous
* had his wife with him and he didn't want anything to happen to her or to himself
* made a bad decision that escalated the safety concern for everyone in the area
* knows the severity and repercussions of his actions 

3.  He also states that he has not only achieved, but excelled in his career as an NCO and he:

* enrolled himself in the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) and completed the program on 7 August 2008 due to a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan
* received two Army Commendation Medals and a Certificate of Achievement for his service and commitment to excellence while deployed
* reenlisted in the U.S. Army indefinitely and was assigned to Fort Sill, OK as a certified Advanced Individual Training instructor
* was selected to attend the Advanced Leader Course in 2009 and completed both phases
* was selected to support Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B) in Soto Cano, Honduras in 2010 because of his technical and tactical knowledge of a vast variety of communication platforms
* received a Joint Service Achievement Medal for his actions while supporting JTF-B

4.  He provides six DA Forms 2166-5 (NCO Evaluation Reports (NCOER's)), an Enlisted Record Brief, and a letter from ASAP.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  At the time the applicant submitted his application, he was serving on active duty in the rank of staff sergeant (SSG)/E-6.  

2.  On 25 August 2006, he accepted nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for driving a vehicle while drunk.  

3.  On 22 September 2006, the applicant received a GOMOR for operating a motor vehicle on a public road while under the influence of alcohol.  On 1 July 2006, he lost control of his vehicle and struck a parked vehicle, shoving the parked vehicle into another parked vehicle which struck a pedestrian.  German Police detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath.  He was transported to the Wuerzburg-Ost German Police station and administered a BAC [blood alcohol content] test, which he failed.  A blood alcohol test resulted in a reading of 0.111 milligrams of alcohol per milliliter.  

4.  The commanding general (CG) of 7th Army Joint Multinational Command expressed concern that the applicant's misconduct in driving while intoxicated indicated a serious lack of maturity and sound judgment on his part.  Such misconduct was a serious breach of personal and professional discipline.  His misconduct brought discredit upon him, his fellow NCOs, and all U.S. Army forces stationed in the U.S. Army Europe community.  Further, the CG expressed that the applicant failed to maintain the minimum standards expected of a Soldier assigned to this command.  


5.  The GOMOR was imposed as an administrative measure and not as punishment under the UCMJ.  The applicant was informed that the GOMOR would be filed in the performance portion of his OMPF.  The applicant acknowledged receipt of the GOMOR in accordance with Army Regulation
600-37 (Unfavorable Information), paragraph 3-6.  He elected not to submit statements or documents in rebuttal.

6.  His chain of command recommended that the GOMOR be filed in the performance portion of his OMPF.

7.  On 7 December 2006, the CG directed the GOMOR be filed permanently in the applicant's OMPF.

8.  A review of the applicant's military records in the Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System revealed that the GOMOR and allied documents were filed on both the performance portion and restricted portion of the applicant's OMPF.

9.  The applicant provided six NCOERs which show he received all "Yes" ratings for Army Values/Attributes/Skills/Actions and was rated as:

Period Covered
Principal Duty Title
Rating Official
Senior Rater 
1 May 2006 through 30 April 2007
Retransmission Team Chief (Germany)
"Among the Best"  
"Successful" and Block 1/"Superior" and Block 1 with positive comments
1 May 2007 through 30 April 2008
Radio Retransmission Team Chief (Afghanistan)
"Among the Best"
"Successful" and Block 1/"Superior" and Block 1 with positive comments
1 May through 19 September 2008
Radio Retransmission Team Chief (Germany)
"Among the Best"
"Successful" and Block 1/"Superior" and Block 1 with positive comments
20 September 2008 through 19 September 2009
Instructor/Writer
(Fort Sill, OK)
"Among the Best"
"Successful" and Block 1/"Superior" and Block 1 with positive comments

Period Covered
Principal Duty Title
Rating Official
Senior Rater 
20 September 2009 through 12 March 2010
Instructor/Writer
(Fort Sill, OK)
"Fully Capable"
"Successful" and Block 2/"Superior" and Block 1 with positive comments
13 March through 17 September 2010
Senior Emergency Actions Controller (Soto Cano, Honduras)
"Fully Capable"
Successful" and Block 2/"Superior" and Block 2 with positive comments
10.  He was promoted to SSG/E-6 on 1 February 2008.  

11.  He provided a letter, dated 7 August 2008, from a Prevention Coordinator at the Installation Management Command-Europe Region, which indicated he successfully acquired 16 hours of Prime for Life Training conducted on 6 and 
7 August 2008 at the Bamberg ASAP Center.  

12.  Section VIII (Awards and Decorations) of his Enlisted Record Brief shows, in part, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal (4th Award) and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.  

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/ Records) prescribes the policies governing the OMPF, the Military Personnel Records Jacket, the Career Management Individual File, and Army Personnel Qualification Records.  Paragraph 2-4 of this regulation states that once a document is placed in the OMPF it becomes a permanent part of that file and will not be removed from that file or moved to another part of the file unless directed by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), the Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board (DASEB), Army Appeals Board, Chief of Appeals and Corrections Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, the OMPF custodian when documents have been improperly filed, Human Resources Command, as an exception, Chief of the Appeals Branch of the Army Reserve Personnel Center and Chief of the Appeals Branch of the National Guard Personnel Center.

14.  Army Regulation 600-37 prescribes policies and procedures regarding unfavorable information considered for inclusion in official personnel files.  Chapter 3 covers unfavorable information in official personnel files.  

   a.  Paragraph 3-4 applies to filing of nonpunitive administrative letters of reprimand or censure in official personnel files.  
   
b.  Paragraph 3-4(b) states that a letter, regardless of the issuing authority, 
may be filed in the OMPF maintained by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, the Army Reserve Personnel Command, or the proper State Adjutant General (for Army National Guard Personnel) only upon the order of a general officer (to include one frocked to the rank of brigadier general) senior to the recipient by direction of an officer having general court-martial jurisdiction over the individual.  Letters filed in the OMPF will be filed on the performance portion (P-portion).  The direction for filing in the OMPF will be contained in an endorsement or addendum to the letter.  Such documents may be appealed on the basis of proof that their intended purpose has been served and that their transfer will be in the best interest of the Army.  The burden of proof rests with the recipient to provide substantial evidence that these conditions have been met.  Appeals submitted under this provision will normally be returned without action unless at least one year has elapsed since the imposition of the letter and at least one evaluation report, other than academic, has been received in the interim.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contentions in regard to his request for removal of the GOMOR from the performance portion of his OMPF and that it remain in the restricted portion of his OMPF is acknowledged and determined to have merit.  

2.  The applicant received a GOMOR on 22 September 2006 for operating a motor vehicle on a public road while under the influence of alcohol.  

3.  The evidence of record shows the GOMOR and allied documents were filed both on the applicant's performance portion and the restricted portion of his OMPF.  

4.  The five NCOERs rendered after the issuance of the GOMOR show that he was rated as "Among the Best" and "1-Sucessful/1-Superior" and "Fully Capable" 2-Successful/1-Superior and 2-Sucessful/2-Superior by his rating officials.

5.  The evidence of record also shows he was promoted to SSG subsequent to the receipt of the GOMOR and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal (4th Award) and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.

6.  Further, it has been almost 5 years since the rendering of the GOMOR.

7.  Based on the overall evidence of record, it appears that the GOMOR has met its intended purpose and it would be appropriate to remove the GOMOR and all allied documents from the performance portion of the applicant's OMPF.
BOARD VOTE:

____X____  ____X____  ___X_____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by removing the GOMOR and all allied documents from the performance portion of his OMPF.  The Board further recommends this Record of Proceedings should be filed in the restricted portion of his OMPF.  




      _______ _   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)                                         AR20110012928



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110012928



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