IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  28 November 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120009603 


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 service in Afghanistan from 26 June 2008 to 25 June 2009.

2.  The applicant states his DD Form 214 does not correctly reflect his total foreign service in an imminent danger pay area.

3.  The applicant provides:

* DA Form 638 (Recommendation for Award), dated 15 January 2009
* DA Form 4980-14 (Army Commendation Medal), dated 16 January 2009

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 14 August 2006.  He completed training and he was awarded military occupational specialty 11B (Infantryman).  The highest rank/grade he attained during his active duty service was sergeant (SGT)/E-5.

2.  On 7 April 2012, the applicant was honorably released from active duty at the completion of required active service and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)) to complete 


his remaining Reserve obligation.  The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time shows in:

	a.  item 12f (Foreign Service) the entry "0001  10  24," indicating he completed 1 year, 10 months, and 24 days of foreign service; and

	b.  item 18 (Remarks) the entry "Service in Afghanistan 20110116 - 20111209."

3.  The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) confirmed that in addition to his deployment already shown on his DD Form 214, the applicant received hostile fire/imminent danger pay (HF/IDP) and combat zone tax exclusion (CZTE) for service in Afghanistan from 4 July 2008 through 17 June 2009, a period of 11 months and 14 days.

4.  Permanent Order Number 016-002, issued by Headquarters, Task Force Duke, Jalalabad, Afghanistan, dated 16 January 2009, awarded the applicant the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service while deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) during the period 26 June 2008 to 24 July 2009.

5.  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.  In establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214 and states 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.  It is important that information entered on the form should be complete and accurate.  Chapter 2 contains guidance on the preparation of the DD Form 214 and states for:

	a.  item 12f, enter the total amount of foreign service completed during the Soldier's continuous period of active service covered by the DD Form 214; and

	b.  item 18, for an active duty Soldier deployed with his or her unit during their continuous period of active service, enter the statement "SERVICE IN (name of country deployed) FROM (inclusive dates for example, YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD)."


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show he served in a designated imminent danger pay area in Afghanistan from
26 June 2008 to 25 June 2009 was carefully considered and found to have partial merit.

2.  During the processing of this case it became apparent item 12f of the applicant's DD Form 214 was incorrectly completed.  The applicant's DD Form 214 currently shows he served in Afghanistan from 16 January 2011 through
9 December 2011.  This period of foreign service equates to 10 months and
24 days; however, his DD Form 214 reflects 1 year, 10 months, and 24 days of foreign service.

3.  The actual dates of the applicant's first deployment to Afghanistan are ambiguous; however, he provided an Army Commendation Medal Certificate that corroborates his deployment to Afghanistan in support of OEF.  In addition, DFAS confirmed he received HF/IDP and CZTE for service in Afghanistan for the period 4 July 2008 through 17 June 2009, a period of 11 months and 14 days.  His combined deployments equate to 1 year, 10 months, and 8 days of foreign service.

4.  It appears an administrative error occurred during the processing of his
DD Form 214 resulting in item 12f showing he completed 1 year, 10 months, and 24 days of foreign service; however, he only completed 1 year, 10 months, and
8 days of foreign service.  It has long been an unwritten policy of the Board that an applicant will not be made worse off than when they applied to the Board.  For this reason, the Board will not take any action to effect the administrative change to correct item 12f of his DD Form 214.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

___x____  ____x___  ____x___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding to item 18 of his DD Form 214 the entry "SERVICE IN AFGHANISTAN FROM 20080708 - 20090617."

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to correcting his DD Form 214 to show he served in Afghanistan 26 June 2008 through 25 June 2009.



												____________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)                                         AR20120009603



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120009603



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