IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 15 January 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140008915
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 foreign service in Somalia and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
2. The applicant states he was never credited with his foreign service to include time in combat in Somalia.
3. The applicant provides copies of:
* A DA Form 4980-18 (Certificate for Award of the Army Achievement Medal), dated 2 August 1993
* A Certificate of Achievement, dated 10 August 1993
* A Certificate of Achievement, dated 27 February 1995
* A DD Form 214 ending on 11 November 1995
* A letter of support, dated 6 November 2014
* Five newspaper articles
* Twenty-one photographs
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's active duty military records are not available to the Board for review. However, there were sufficient documents available for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
3. On 12 November 1992, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army and was trained as a wheeled vehicle repairman. He attained the rank of specialist/pay grade E-4 and was released from active duty (REFRAD) on 11 November 1995. His DD Form 214 for this period of service does not show any combat or foreign service.
4. A review of the certificates provided by the applicant reveal that he served in Somalia in 1993 and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1995. However, these documents do not provide the exact dates of arrival and departure from the overseas locations.
5. The letter of support, as provided by the applicant, from his former squad leader states the applicant served in Somalia from May to September 1993 and he had been tasked with the recovery of fellow Soldiers who had been attacked and pinned down by enemy small arms, mortar and rocket fire.
6. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), as in effect at the time [1995], provided detailed instructions for completing separation documents, including the DD Form 214. It provided that the DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provided a brief, clear-cut record of active duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. Item 12f (Foreign Service) provides for the number of years, months, and days of foreign service during the covered period.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show his foreign service in Somalia and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
2. The available evidence, as provided by the applicant, clearly shows he served in Somalia and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, the documents do not clearly and convincingly show the exact dates of his foreign service. Therefore, an accurate accounting of this service cannot be entered in Item 12f of his
DD Form 214.
3. At the time of his REFRAD, the governing regulation did not provide for an entry in the Remarks block of the DD Form 214 showing periods of deployment to specific countries.
4. In view of the above, the applicant's request should be denied because of insufficient documentary evidence to support his contention.
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) AR20140008915
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140008915
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