IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 January 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120011488
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 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his rank/grade of sergeant (SGT)/E-5 instead of specialist four (SP4)/E-4 and to show a Letter of Commendation.
2. The applicant states he made SGT/E-5 in June 1971. He also states everybody in his battalion in Vietnam received a Letter of Commendation, but the clerks were too busy or lazy to put it on his DD Form 214. He further states he is now old and wants his DD Form 214 corrected for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
3. The applicant provides:
* His DD Form 214
* A newspaper article pertaining to his promotion to SGT/E-5
* Special Orders Number 231, issued by Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), dated 19 August 1971
* A letter of commendation to the Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion (Airmobile), 327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, dated February 1971
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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 2 March 1970. He served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 2 August 1970 to 1 August 1971. On 1 November 1971, he was honorably released from active duty and he was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training) to complete his remaining service obligation. He completed
1 year and 8 months of total active service.
3. The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time shows in:
* item 5a (Grade Rate or Rank) the entry "SP4"
* item 5b (Pay Grade) the entry "E-4"
* item 6 (Date of Rank) the entry "6 JAN 71" (6 January 1971)
* item 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized)
4. Special Orders Number 231, dated 19 August 1971, show the applicant was promoted to SGT/E-5 effective 4 August 1971.
5. He provided a letter of commendation from the Commanding Officer, Headquarters, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) to his battalion commander, dated February 1971, commending the officers and troopers of the unit for their service in Vietnam.
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. It 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 states for:
a. item 5a, enter the grade in which serving at the time of separation.
b. item 5b, enter pay grade.
c. item 6, enter the date of rank for the grade shown in item 5a.
d. item 24, enter all decorations, service medals, campaign credit, and badges awarded or authorized, in the priority sequence specified in Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Award). Army Regulation 600-8-22 gives the order of precedence for awards and decorations. Only decorations, medals, and ribbons are listed. Certificates of achievement, letters of appreciation, and similar documents are not listed.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Special Orders Number 231 that promoted the applicant to SGT/E-5 effective 4 August 1971 are accepted as sufficient evidence on which to amend items 5a, 5b, and 6 of his DD Form 214. Therefore, his DD Form 214 should be corrected accordingly.
2. The governing regulation states certificates of achievement, letters of appreciation, and similar documents are not listed on the DD Form 214. Therefore, there is no basis for adding a letter of commendation to the applicant's 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:
a. deleting from item 5a of his DD Form 214 the current entry and replacing it with the entry "SGT";
b. deleting from item 5b of his DD Form 214 the current entry and replacing it with the entry "E-5"; and
c. deleting from item 6 of his DD Form 214 the current entry and replacing it with the entry "4 AUG 71."
2. The Board further determined that the evidence presented is 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 adding a letter of commendation to the applicant's DD Form 214.
____________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) AR20120011488
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120011488
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