IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 March 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110018780
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 his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to show his period of service in Vietnam.
2. The applicant states that he needs the addition of the specific reference to serving in Vietnam to be added to his DD Form 214 for membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
3. The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 and a letter from a VFW post.
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 served on active duty from 30 December 1965 through 26 January 1969 in the military occupational specialty 76P (Materiel Control And Accounting Specialist).
3. His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows service in Vietnam with the 610th Intelligence Battalion and the 506th Supply and Service Company from 6 July 1967 through 2 July 1968.
4. Line 22c of his DD Form 214 shows one year of foreign service in the "USARPAC". It also shows he was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960).
5. 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 establishes standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214 and states the Remarks block is used for Headquarters Department of the Army mandatory requirements when a separate block is not available and as a continuation for entries in blocks 11, 13, and 14. The regulation as in effect at the time of the applicant's separation stated that the last area of foreign service would be added on the Foreign and Sea Service line. The current regulation states that for an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit during their continuous period of active service, enter the following statement "SERVICE IN (NAME OF COUNTRY DEPLOYED) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD - YYYYMMDD)."
6. Department of Defense Directive 1332.28 (Discharge Review Procedures and Standards) provides, in pertinent part, that a discharge shall be deemed equitable unless the policies and procedures under which the applicant was discharged differ materially from those currently in effect, provided that the current policies or procedures represent a substantial enhancement of rights and there is substantial doubt that the same result would have obtained under the current standards.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. At the time of the applicant's service the last area of foreign service was denoted on the DD Form 214 at 22C (Foreign Service). The regulation did not specifically indicate what this entry was to be and depending on the command completing the DD Form 214, the entry utilized the theater of operation not the specific country.
2. With changes in governing regulation, now when a Soldier is deployed to an area where hazardous duty or imminent danger pay is authorized, the specific country and the period of service are entered in the Remarks block.
3. The current regulation is a substantial enhancement of rights and it is appropriate to utilize the current provision and add the following statement to the applicant's DD Form 214: SERVICE IN VIETNAM FROM 6 July 19670706 - 2 July 19680702.
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 adding at the Remarks block on the DD Form 214: SERVICE IN VIETNAM FROM 6 JULY 19670706 - 2 JULY 19680702.
_______ _ __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) AR20110018780
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110018780
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