BOARD DATE:	  28 August 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140000472 


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 award of the Purple Heart for injuries received as a result of enemy action in Iraq on 6 March 2008. 

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  While he was deployed to Iraq, his unit submitted an award request for him for the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge for injuries received as a result of enemy action in Iraq on 6 March 2008.  He was awarded the Combat Action Badge but he was never awarded the Purple Heart.  He was never given any justification as to why he was not awarded the Purple Heart.

	b.  He recently received a letter from the Awards and Decorations Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), denying his request for award of the Purple Heart wherein it stated the denial was based on "The injury does not appear to be severe and there is questionable relationship of combat to injury."

	c.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Award) states "A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one more of the conditions listed above.  A physical lesion is not required; however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by medical personnel and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record."

	d.  He is providing a Standard Form (SF) 558 (Emergency Care and Treatment) wherein it showed he sustained an injury to a part of his body from an outside force that was sustained as the result of an act of an hostile foreign force.  Though the report does not identify the individual who fired the round as being a hostile force, his award of the Combat Action Badge and his being in a combat zone on that date deems the action to be from a hostile force.

	e.  Per Army Regulation 600-8-22, the specific eligibility requirements for award of the Combat Action Badge state the Soldier must be performing assigned duties in an area where hostile fire/imminent danger pay is authorized, the Soldier must be personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, and performing satisfactorily in accordance with the prescribed rules of engagement.  Since he was awarded the Combat Action Badge for the action that occurred on 6 March 2008, he was found to have been engaged by the enemy.  This falls under the criteria for the Purple Heart and deems the injury he received was directly related to combat.

	f.  Nowhere in Army Regulation 600-8-22 does it state that the injury must be severe in order to be considered for the Purple Heart.  It states the injury must have needed medical treatment and there must be an official record of the treatment.  He took a bullet in the shoulder while he was serving in a combat zone and received treatment for his injury.  He believes this entitles him to a Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* two orders
* SF 558, dated 6 March 2008
* two memoranda, dated 12 March 2008 and 16 March 2008
* DA Form 1156 (Casualty Feeder Card), dated 16 March 2008
* DA Form 2823 (Sworn Statement), dated 16 March 2008
* seven DA Forms 1155 (Witness Statement of Individual), six dated 16 March 2008 and one dated 17 March 2008
* two DA Forms 4187 (Personnel Action), dated 18 March 2008
* a letter, dated 6 December 2013

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 17 January 2007 and he held military occupational specialty (MOS) 68W (Health Care Specialist).  He was assigned to the 514th Medical Company, 62nd Medical Brigade, Fort Lewis, WA.

2.  On 15 November 2007, he deployed to Camp Cropper, Iraq, with his assigned unit.  
3.  The applicant provides:

	a.  An SF 558, dated 6 March 2008, wherein it shows he received medical treatment on that date at the emergency medical treatment facility for a gunshot wound to his left shoulder.  The examining physician stated the applicant was injured when a stray gunshot came through the roof and struck him in the shoulder.  He had a contusion and minor abrasion at the site, bleeding was controlled, and there was minimal pain.  He was treated with Neosporin for the abrasion, ice for the contusion, and he was subsequently returned to duty.  

	b.  A DA Form 1156, dated 16 March 2008, wherein it stated the applicant was injured on 6 March 2008 when a 7.62mm round penetrated the 514th Medical Company's trailer at Camp Cropper within the 31st Combat Support Hospital's (CSH) area.  The medics were about to begin a meeting when the AK-47 round struck the corner roof of the trailer and hit the applicant on his left shoulder, leaving lacerations and a blunt wound.  He was quickly taken to the 31st CSH's emergency room for medical attention and he was returned to duty the same day.  This form appears to contradict itself as it shows the casualty type as non-hostile and the inflicting force as unknown.

	c.  Six DA Forms 1155, dated 16 March 2008, wherein Soldiers who had been present during the 6 March 2008 incident described what occurred on that date and stated they came under attack while in the tactical operations center (TOC) trailer, a round later identified as from an AK-47 came through the roof, and the applicant was hit in the shoulder by the round.  

	d.  A memorandum for record, dated 16 March 2008, subject:  Narrative for Direct Fire Incident on 6 March 2008, wherein the Commander, 514th Medical Company, Captain (CPT) RRF, in part, stated on 6 March 2008, enemy action in the form of a direct fire attack occurred against Camp Cropper.  One 7.62mm round penetrated the Camp Cropper TOC hitting the applicant on the left shoulder (emphasis added).  Sergeant (SGT) C____ gathered everyone outside the trailer and took the applicant to the 31st CSH for treatment of the GSW to his shoulder.  The applicant was then treated and discharged with routine follow-up care.

	e.  A DA Form 4187, dated 18 March 2008, wherein CPT RRF requested the applicant be awarded the Combat Action Badge for being engaged by enemy forces on 6 March 2008.

	f.  A DA Form 4187, dated 18 March 2008, wherein CPT RRF requested the applicant be awarded the Purple Heart for being engaged by enemy forces on 6 March 2008.
4.  The applicant departed Iraq on 1 November 2008 and returned to Fort Lewis.

5.  He was honorably discharged on 26 June 2011 in the rank of SGT by reason of disability with severance pay.  He completed 4 years, 5 months, and 10 days of creditable active service.

6.  The DD Form 214 he was issued, in part, shows award of the Combat Action Badge.  It also shows he served in Iraq from 15 November 2007 to 1 November 2008.

7.  The applicant also provides a letter, dated 6 December 2013, from HRC, wherein his request for award of the Purple Heart for injuries received on 6 March 2008 was denied.  The HRC official stated according to the documentation he provided the medical treatment and diagnosis on 6 March 2008 did not support a relationship of combat to injury.  It was also found the injury he sustained did not appear to be severe, there was a questionable relationship of combat to the injury, and did not meet the criteria for award of the Purple Heart.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.  It states:

	a.  The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound/injury sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required medical treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  

	b.  While clearly an individual decoration, the Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration, rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.

	c.  A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more conditions.  A physical lesion is not required; however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by medical personnel and records of medical treatment must be made a part of an official record.  Examples of enemy-related related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart include an injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.  




DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The criteria for award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that a Soldier received a wound/injury as a result of hostile action, the wound/injury required medical treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  It does not state the wound/injury must have been of a certain severity.

2.  The SF 558 the applicant provided confirms he was treated for a gunshot wound of the left shoulder on 6 March 2008 and the Narrative for Direct Fire Incident on 6 March 2008, dated 16 March 2008, shows CPT RRF stated enemy action in the form of a direct fire attack occurred against Camp Cropper on 6 March 2008 when a round penetrated the TOC hitting the applicant on the left shoulder and he was treated for the injury.  Notwithstanding the finding by HRC, this establishes a direct relation of the injury to enemy action.

3.  In addition, his award of the Combat Action Badge for being engaged by enemy action on 6 March 2008 confirms the applicant was wounded as a result of enemy action on 6 March 2006. 

4.  It appears when CPT RRF completed the DA Form 4187 on 18 March 2008 requesting the applicant be awarded the Purple Heart he inadvertently stated it was for being engaged by enemy forces on 6 March 2008.  He failed to state the applicant was wounded as a result of the enemy action.  It can be presumed this may be why he was not awarded the Purple Heart in 2008. 

5.  In view of the foregoing, he is entitled to the requested relief.

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:
* awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received in Iraq on 6 March 2008 as a result of enemy action 
* adding to the Purple Heart to 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)                                         AR20140000472





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