IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 September 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150001447 


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 reconsideration of his previous request for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  He obtained a personnel roster from the Army Records Center in St. Louis, MO, which clearly shows that all military occupational specialty (MOS) 63B (Wheel Vehicle Mechanic) personnel who were working in that MOS were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 47th Infantry Battalion as per the Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) which was the U.S. Army organization structure used in manning infantry divisions at that time.

   b.  In reviewing his denial letter, it became clear that his superiors felt his value was as an infantryman and not in the motor pool as a 63B.  There is no record of him being removed from the MOS 11B (Light Weapons Infantryman) position while assigned to Company E.  He was not assigned to their maintenance pool.  He was assigned to Company E, a line infantry company, where there were no 63B manning positions.  He served as an infantry squad leader before being reassigned as the battalion armorer which on the infantry battalion TO&E is a U.S. Army Infantry MOS position.  There is no evidence of his assignment to a maintenance platoon; he was never assigned to the motor pool.  

   c.  During his period of service as the battalion armorer, he was often sent into the field to repair or replace M-16 rifles or M-79 grenade launchers.  During these repair trips to infantry companies assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry, he came under enemy small arms fire and he returned enemy small arms fire on several occasions.  Also, upon returning from installing grenade launchers on Company A Soldiers’ M-16s he came under enemy fire.  His first sergeant advised him that personnel assigned to Company E were awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and at the next company award ceremony he would receive that award too.  It is his fault that he did not follow-up (not knowing the importance of this award).  It is not his fault that the first sergeant or company clerk did not place a note in his personnel file.

   d.  He affirms he was never utilized in the 63B capacity.  As the record shows, he was later awarded a permanent secondary MOS of 11B.  It is clear that he was assigned in an 11B position.  He was then transferred to an artillery company for billeting/messing purposes for personnel that were assigned to the Base (Dong Tam) Tactical Operations Center where he worked in a perimeter defense capacity reporting to the Dong Tam Base Command.  It was impossible to assign a 63B to this artillery company because the company utilized no vehicles.  Dong Tam was located in the Mekong Delta where wheeled vehicles were impossible to use due to the muddy and wet terrain.  As a result of this transfer he obviously became separated from his previous unit, Company E, and it did not occur to him to pursue award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

   e.  The Vietnam War was a long time ago.  He has attempted to contact his company captain with no response.  He cannot locate his first sergeant or determine if he is still alive.  He believes the record stands for itself.  He knows the Board can only make decisions based on what is presented.  However, he hopes the Board will accept his statement and evidence to show he should be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  

3.  The applicant provides copies of a DA Form 305-3 (Personnel Roster) for HHC, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry as new evidence and his previous Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR20130009694 on 31 December 2013.

2.  The applicant’s request for reconsideration is dated 31 December 2014 and was received on 5 January 2015.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) sets forth procedures for processing requests for correction of military records.  Paragraph 2-15b governs requests for reconsideration.  This provision of the regulation allows an applicant to request reconsideration of an earlier ABCMR decision if the request is received within one year of the ABCMR's original decision and it has not previously been reconsidered.  In view of new evidence not previously considered by the Board and the date of his request being within one year of the ABCMR’s original decision, the DA Form 305-3 will be considered by the Board.

3.  The applicant’s military records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 December 1965.  He completed basic combat training at Fort Knox, KY, and advanced individual training at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

4.  Special Orders (SO) Number 75 issued by the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, on 14 April 1966, awarded him MOS 63B.  

5.  Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Records) shows his pertinent assignment history as follows:

* HHC, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Riley, KS, from 28 April through 2 October 1966, serving in MOS 63B
* Company E, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Riley, KS, from 3 October 1966 through on or about 27 January 1967, serving in MOS 63B
* his unit conducted a unit permanent change of station and arrived in Vietnam on 28 January 1967 
* Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 34th Artillery, 9th Infantry Division from 3 June through 29 November 1967, serving in MOS 63B 

6.  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) of his DA Form 20 does not show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

7.  SO Number 100 issued by Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division on 10 April 1967, awarded him the secondary MOS of 11B.

8.  He provided a copy of a DA Form 305-3, dated 22 April 1967, listing the names and MOSs of personnel assigned to HHC, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry. His name is not listed on this specific form.

9.  He was honorably released from active duty on 30 November 1967 and was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group.  He was credited with completing 1 year, 11 months, and 21 days of net active service.  His DD Form 214 does not show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. 
10.  A review of the Awards and Decorations Computer-Assisted Retrieval System, an index of General Orders issued during the Vietnam era between 1965 and 1973 maintained by the Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, failed to reveal any orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge pertaining to the applicant.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to an infantry Soldier assigned or attached to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and actively participates in such ground combat.  Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To award the Combat Infantryman Badge, the evidence must show the applicant held and served in an infantry MOS while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regiment, or smaller size and he must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to this infantry unit during his period of service in Vietnam.  

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant initially held MOS 63B and then was awarded the secondary MOS 11B and served in an infantry unit in Vietnam.

3.  The applicant’s new evidence, a Personnel Roster for HHC, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry, did not list him as a member of that unit at the time the report was prepared.  In his statement he said he participated in fire fights while serving as an armorer.  Notwithstanding this argument and his new evidence, in the absence of documentary evidence that conclusively shows he was personally present when his infantry unit was engaged in direct ground combat with enemy forces, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number Docket Number AR20130009694, dated 31 December 2013.




      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20150001447



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150001447



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