BOARD DATE:	  16 October 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120005377
 

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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his character of service as honorable instead of uncharacterized.

2.  The applicant states he is a new person now who deserves honor.  He corrected his errors and wants to be a voting citizen.

3.  The applicant provides a self-authored statement, his résumé, two third-party letters of character reference/support, and a Family District Court of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Child Custody Agreement.

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 applicant's 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 applicant's 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 Oklahoma Army National Guard (OKARNG) on 9 April 1996.

3.  On 15 July 1996, he entered initial active duty for training (IADT).  He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 91B (Medical Specialist).

4.  On 5 December 1996, he was released from IADT and returned to the control of his Army National Guard (ARNG) unit, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, Stillwater, OK.  His DD Form 214 contains the following entries:

* item 12c (Net Active Service This Period) – 4 months and 21 days
* item 23 (Type of Separation) – Release from Active Duty Training
* item 24 (Character of Service) – Uncharacterized
* item 25 (Separation Authority) – Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) Self-Terminating Order 071-12, dated 4 April 1996
* item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) – Completion of Period of Active Duty Training

5.  Orders 34-22 issued by the OKARNG, dated 3 February 1999, discharged him from the OKARNG under honorable conditions and assigned him to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) effective 21 January 1999.

6.  Orders D-04-412688 issued by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, MO, dated 13 April 2004, honorably discharged him from the USAR effective 13 April 2004.

7.  The applicant provides:

* a self-authored statement in which he addresses his desire for amendment of his uncharacterized release from active duty as a means for closure and to assist him in moving forward with the adoption process he and his wife are currently involved in
* his résumé and two third-party letters of character reference/support which attest to his stability and strength of character
* a Family District Court of Oklahoma County Child Custody Agreement

8.  Army Regulation 635-200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations) sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 3 describes the different characterizations of service.

	a.  Paragraph 3-7a states that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor.  The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the Soldier's service generally has met the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty for Army personnel or is otherwise so meritorious that any other characterization would be clearly inappropriate.  Only the honorable characterization may be awarded a Soldier upon completion of his/her period of enlistment or period for which called or ordered to active duty or active duty for training, or where required under specific reasons for separation, unless an entry-level status separation (uncharacterized) is warranted.

	b.  Paragraph 3-9, of the regulation in effect at the time of his separation, stated that a separation would be described as an entry-level separation with service uncharacterized if processing is initiated while a Soldier is in an entry-level status, except in the following circumstances:

		(1)  when characterization of under other than honorable conditions is authorized under the reason for separation and is warranted by the circumstances of the case or

		(2)  when the Secretary of the Army, on a case-by-case basis, determines that an honorable characterization of service is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty.

	c.  Section  II (Terms) of the glossary states that entry-level status for Soldiers in the ARNG and USAR begins upon enlistment in the ARNG or USAR and, for those Soldiers ordered to IADT for one continuous period, terminates 180 days after the commencement of IADT.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends his DD Form 214 for the period ending 5 December 1996 should be corrected to show his character of service as honorable instead of uncharacterized.

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant entered IADT, completed 4 months and 21 days of active service, was released from IADT on 5 December 1996, and received an uncharacterized character of service. 

3.  The applicant was an ARNG Soldier attending IADT; therefore, his entry-level status would have terminated 180 days after he entered IADT.  He served on active duty for a period of 141 days and therefore was still in an entry-level status at the time of his separation.  As a result, his DD Form 214 correctly characterizes his service as uncharacterized.  He is not entitled to the requested relief.

4.  An uncharacterized discharge is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier's military service.  It merely means the Soldier has not served on active duty long enough for his or her character of service to be rated.  As a result, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

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 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)                                         AR20100000887



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120005377



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