BOARD DATE:	  25 September 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140001831 


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 the characterization of her service from uncharacterized to honorable. 

2.  The applicant states she has put time and effort and she deserves compensation for the time she served with the military.   She was a dedicated Soldier but once she was discharged, she was unable to receive any type of help.  She never had a problem doing what was asked of her. 

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), ending on 23 March 1989
* Letter from the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB)
* Certificate of training
* U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) discharge orders, dated 24 March 2004

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 USAR for 8 years on 24 August 1988.

3.  She entered active duty for training (ADT) on 26 October 1988.  She completed basic combat and advanced individual training, and she was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 72E (Tactical Telecommunications Center Operator).

4.  She was released from ADT to the control of the USAR on 23 March 1989.  She completed 4 months and 28 days of active service.  Her DD Form 214 shows in item 24 (Character of Service) the entry "UNCHARACTERIZED"

5.  Subsequent to her release from active duty, she was assigned to a troop program unit (TPU) of the USAR.  She reenlisted in the USAR for 6 years on 12 June 1994.  She also executed a 12-month extension on 11 September 2002. 

6.  On 24 March 2004, Headquarters, U.S. Army Reserve Command, Fort McPherson, GA, published Orders 04-084-00070 honorably discharging her from the USAR effective 24 March 2004.

7.  On 20 September 2013, she petitioned the ADRB for a change to her characterization of service from uncharacterized to honorable.  However, the ADRB informed her that her request was not submitted within that board's         15-year statute of limitations and thus the ADRB could not act on it. 

8.  Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations) describes the different types of characterization of service.  Paragraph 3-7a provides that an honorable discharge is a separation with honor and entitles the recipient to benefits provided by law.  The honorable characterization is appropriate when the quality of the member'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.

9.  Army Regulation 635-200 describes the different types of characterization of service.  Paragraph 3-9 (Uncharacterized Separation) of the version in effect at the time stated a separation will be described as an entry level separation with service uncharacterized if processing is initiated while a Soldier is in entry level status, except in the following circumstances:

	a.  When characterization Under Other Than Honorable Conditions is authorized under the reason for separation and is warranted by the circumstances of the case.

	b.  The Secretary of the Army, on a case–by–case basis, determines that characterization of service as Honorable is clearly warranted by the presence of unusual circumstances involving personal conduct and performance of duty.  This characterization is authorized when the Soldier is separated by reason of selected changes in service obligation, convenience of the Government and Secretarial plenary authority.

	c.  For Army National Guard (ARNG) and USAR Soldiers, entry level status begins upon enlistment in the ARNG or USAR.  It terminates:

* For Soldiers ordered to ADT for continuous period—180 days after beginning training
* For Soldiers ordered to ADT for the split or alternate training option—90 days after beginning Phase II (AIT); Soldiers completing Phase I (Basic Training or Basic Combat Training) remain in entry level status until 90 days after beginning Phase II

10.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) at the time established the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous active service.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge, and is not intended to have any legal effect on termination of a Soldier's service.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the USAR on 24 August 1988.  She entered ADT on 26 October 1988 and she was released from ADT on 23 March 1989.  She completed 4 months and 28 days of active service.  

2.  During the first 180 days of continuous active military service, a member's service is under review.  When separated within the first 180 days, service is usually not characterized unless the circumstances of the separation warrant an under other-than-honorable conditions discharge.  An honorable characterization may be given only if the service clearly warrants that characterization by unusual circumstances of personal conduct and performance of military duty and is approved by the Secretary of the Army.  

3.  The entry-level (uncharacterized) separation is given regardless of the reason for separation. This uncharacterized discharge is neither positive nor negative; it is not "derogatory."  An uncharacterized character of service is not meant to be a negative reflection of a Soldier’s military service.  It merely means that the Soldier has not been in the Army long enough for his or her character of service to be rated as honorable or otherwise.  As a result, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request for an honorable discharge.

4.  The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier’s most recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge.  It is the period she spent on active duty that is being uncharacterized, not her discharge from the USAR.

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 that 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)                                         AR20140001831





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140001831



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