IN THE CASE OF:	  

	BOARD DATE:	    21 July 2015

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140019547 


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 award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

2.  The applicant states, in effect:

* his unit, Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, was awarded the CIB during a company/battalion ceremony after he was honorably discharged
* he was involuntarily extended prior to Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and he was honorably discharged upon his return to Fort Hood, TX
* he was informed his unit was awarded the CIB at a fellow Soldier’s reunion
* he has been rated 100-percent disabled for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

3.  The applicant provides:

* interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) Record Review printout
* self-authored statement
* DD Form 214
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214)
* VA letter, dated 26 March 2014
* three letters from former Soldiers
* Congressional correspondence
* Richmond Magazine, June and July 2014 editions
* 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, Black Knights – Knights in the Desert commemorative book

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 14 September 1988.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11M (Fighting Vehicle Infantryman).

3.  Item 27 (Remarks) of his DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II) shows duty in an imminent danger pay area (Saudi Arabia) from 28 September 1990 to 18 April 1991.

4.  On 14 May 1991, he was honorably released from active duty.  His DD Form 214 shows in:

* item 8a (Last Duty Assignment and Major Command) – Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, U.S. Army Forces Command
* item 12f (Foreign Service) – 6 months and 21 days
* item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) –

* Army Good Conduct Medal
* National Defense Service Medal
* Army Service Ribbon
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade Bar
* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar
* Army Lapel Button

* item 18 (Remarks) – service in Southwest Asia from 28 September 1990 to 29 April 1991

5.  On 1 October 1992, he was issued a DD Form 215 adding award of the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three bronze service stars and Kuwait Liberation Medal to his DD Form 214.

6.  The applicant provided a self-authored statement, iPERMS record review printout, and:

	a.  VA letter, dated 26 March 2014, that shows he was granted a 100-percent disability rating from the VA;

	b.  a statement from J____ B____, a former Soldier who states he was assigned with the applicant in Southwest Asia and every infantry Soldier in the unit was awarded the CIB.  He also provided a copy of his DD Forms 214 for the periods ending 10 June 1992 and 16 June 1993;

	c.  a statement from T____ N. W____, a former Soldier who states he was assigned with the applicant when their unit was deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm;

	d.  a statement from B____ R____, a former Soldier who states he served with the applicant  from October 1990 through April 1991.  He also states there are quite a few Soldiers who served with them during Operations Desert Shield/
Desert Storm who do not have the CIB updated in their records or show they were in the theater of operations;

	e.  a statement from M____ P____, a former Soldier who states he served with the applicant during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  He also states the rest of the men who served in their unit received the CIB upon discharge;

	f.  the June and July 2014 editions of the Richmond Magazine that contain articles related to his struggles with PTSD and his deployment during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm; and

	g.  1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, Black Knights – Knights in the Desert, a commemorative book dedicated to Soldiers serving as Black Knights during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

7.  His name appears on the Gulf War Roster for the period 19 October 1990 to 15 April 1991.

8.  Department of the Army General Orders Number 27, dated 27 December 1994, show:

* Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, listed 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, as an assigned or attached unit
* awarded the company and its attached and assigned units the Valorous Unit Award (VUA) for the period 15 through 25 February 1991

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.

	a.  The Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KLM-SA) was approved on 3 January 1992 and is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participated in the Persian Gulf War between 17 January 1991 and 28 February 1991.

	b.  The Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by the Government of Kuwait
(KLM-KU) was approved on 9 November 1995 and is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participated in the Persian Gulf War between 2 August 1990 and 31 August 1993.

	c.  The VUA is awarded for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party for actions occurring on or after 3 August 1963.  This award requires a lesser degree of gallantry, determination, and esprit de corps than required for the Presidential Unit Citation.  Nevertheless, the unit must have performed with marked distinction under difficult and hazardous conditions in accomplishing its mission so as to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same conflict.  The degree of heroism required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Silver Star to an individual.

	d.  There are basically three requirements for award of the CIB.  The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, as amended by Military Personnel
Message 08-190, states the CIB may be awarded to an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and actively participating in such ground combat.  Specific requirements state, in effect, that an Army Soldier must have an infantry or special forces specialty/MOS and must have satisfactorily performed infantry duties while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry, ranger, or special forces unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat.  A Soldier must be personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry or special forces primary duty in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy to close with and destroy the enemy with direct fires.  Personnel possessing an infantry MOS in a rifle squad of a cavalry platoon in a cavalry troop will be eligible for award of the CIB.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant contends that his unit was awarded the CIB after his discharge, the CIB is an individual award and not a unit award.

2.  General orders awarded the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, the VUA for the period 15 through 25 February 1991.  His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this unit award.

3.  The evidence of record shows the applicant held an infantry MOS, he was assigned to a cavalry unit of a rifle squad, and he was personally present and actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy as evidenced by his unit's receipt of the VUA for the period 15 through 25 February 1991.

4.  In view of the aforementioned evidence, he should be awarded the CIB and his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show this badge.

5.  He also is authorized award of KLM-SA and KLM-KU.  However, his DD Form 214 only shows one award of the KLM and it is unclear which medal was awarded.  His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show award of the Kuwait Liberation Medal for both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of Kuwait.

BOARD VOTE:

____x___  ___x_____  ____x____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is 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:

	a.  awarding him the CIB for his active participation in combat during the period 15 through 25 February 1991; 

	b.  deleting the Kuwait Liberation Medal from his DD Form 214; and

	b.  adding the following awards to his DD Form 214:

   *	VUA
   *	KLM-SA 
   *	KLM-K
   *	CIB



      _____________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)                                         AR20140019547



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140019547



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