IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 2 July 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120021152
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 his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected to show his service in Cambodia.
2. The applicant states:
a. from November 1993 through December 1993 he was part of a Missing in Action (MIA)/Prisoner of War (POW) support mission in Cambodia and he received hostile fire pay (HFP).
b. he is requesting this amendment for employment reasons only. He was terminated from his position at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in New York because he lacked a "preferred veteran status." When he was hired as a housekeeping aide he supplied all necessary documentation for employment. However, due to a Human Resources mistake, he can no longer be employed in that position unless he can prove he served in the Army during a time of conflict or war. Housekeeping positions are reserved for veterans with preferred veteran status. Although his mission in Cambodia was not during war or conflict, he did receive HFP due to the fact that his mission was the recovery of American POWs and MIAs from the Vietnam War in a hostile area.
3. The applicant provides:
* Letter, dated 2 November 2012, from the VA Health Care Upstate New York
* External Support Mission Sheet
* Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Military Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
* Map of Cambodia
* Passport
* DD Form 214
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 Regular Army on 22 January 1992. He served as an ammunition specialist and he was honorably released from active duty on 19 May 1994 upon completion of required active service.
3. Item 18 (Remarks) of his DD Form 214 does not show any deployed service.
4. He provided a copy of his passport and a visa stamp that show he was in Cambodia in November and December 1993.
5. He also provided an LES covering the period 1-31 January 1994 which shows he received HFP.
6. DFAS confirmed he received hostile fire/imminent danger pay (HF/IDP) and combat zone tax exclusion (CZTE) for Laos from 1 November 1993 through
31 December 1993.
7. 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. The regulation provides that for 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 visa stamp that shows the applicant was in Cambodia in 1993 is accepted as sufficient evidence verifying his service in Cambodia. Additionally, DFAS confirmed he served in Laos from 1 November 1993 through 31 December 1993. As such, the evidence shows he served in Cambodia and Laos during this period.
2. In view of the foregoing, item 18 of his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show he served in Cambodia/Laos from 1 November 1993 through 31 December 1993.
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 the entry "SERVICE IN CAMBODIA/LAOS 19931101-19931231" in item 18 of his 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) AR20120021152
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120021152
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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