IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:  15 September 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150001574


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 he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM), and to show his foreign service in support of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  He was awarded the ARCOM just prior to being separated from active duty.  He received the medal in the mail sometime after he returned home, which is why it is not recorded on his DD Form 214.  
   
   b.  In November of 1990, during Operation Desert Shield, he was assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps and deployed to the Sinai Desert.  During Operation Desert Storm, his unit's mission was to man a multinational listening post located across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.  They did not experience hostile action but by being deployed to Saudi Arabia, they did receive overseas pay and danger pay.  He returned with his unit on 1 April 1991.  
   
   c.  His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Multinational Forward Observers (MFO) Medal.  It does not reflect his Southwest Asia or foreign service time.  He was young, stupid, and in a hurry while out-processing, which is why he did not ensure his DD Form 214 was complete before he signed it.
   
3.  The applicant provides:

* his DD Form 214
* DA Form 4980-14 (ARCOM Certificate), for the period 30 June 1991 through 26 February 1992 
* DA Form 638-1 (Recommendation for Award (For Other Than Valor) of Army Achievement Medal (AAM), ARCOM, and Meritorious Service Medal (MSM)), annotated as Permanent Order Number 36-7, issued by Headquarters, 10th Mountain Division on 31 March 1992
* a Certificate of Achievement, issued by Headquarters, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division on 6 March 1991
* DA Forms 3686 (JUMPS-Army – Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)), covering the months November and December 1990 and March 1991
* a separate note, which addresses the applicant's inability to locate his LESs for the month January and February 1991

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 29 December 1988.  Following the completion of his initial entry training, he was awarded military occupational specialty 95B (Military Police) and was reassigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY.  

3.  His record contains a certificate of participation that shows he served with U.S. Battalion Task Force 2-14 Infantry, as part of the MFO in the Sinai, during the period 2 November 1990 through 4 March 1991, a period of 4 months and    3 days.

4.  He was promoted to the rank/grade of specialist/E-4 on 1 January 1991.

5.  He was honorably released from active duty on 26 February 1992 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.  His DD Form 214 shows in: 

   a. Item 12f (Record of Service – Foreign Service) is void of any entry, indicating the absence of any credited foreign service.

   b. Item 13 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), he was awarded or authorized the:

* Army Achievement Medal
* National Defense Service Medal
* Army Service Ribbon
* Multinational Force and Observers Medal
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-16)
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Pistol Bar (9 mm)
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Pistol Bar      (.45 Caliber)
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade Bar      (Hand Grenade)
* Air Assault Badge

   c. Item 18 (Remarks) does not show he participated in any named operations or campaigns.

6.  The applicant provides:

	a.  A DA Form 638-1, annotated as Permanent Order Number 36-7, issued by Headquarters, 10th Mountain Division on 31 March 1992, which shows he was awarded the ARCOM for meritorious service during the period 30 June 1991 through 26 February 1992.

   b.  A Certificate of Achievement, issued by Headquarters, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division on 6 March 1991, which shows he served as a member of the MFO, Rotation Number 19, in the Sinai, Egypt, from November 1990 to March 1991.
   
7.  The MFO is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The MFO generally operates in and around the Sinai Peninsula.  
   a.  The Camp David Accords were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on 17 September 1978, under the sponsorship of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The accords provided for a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.
   b.  Following the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty on 26 March 1979, the United Nations (UN) was asked to provide the peacekeeping forces for the Sinai Peninsula, as mandated in the treaty.  The terms of the treaty required the presence of international peacekeepers to ensure that both Israel and Egypt kept to the provisions regarding military build-up along the border. 
   c.  Initially, the peacekeeping force was provided by the U.S. Sinai Field Mission, while efforts were made to create a UN force.  The President of the UN Security Council indicated on 18 May 1981 that the UN would be unable to provide the peacekeeping force, due to the threat of a veto of the motion by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at the request of Syria.
   d.  As a result of the UN Security Council impasse, Egypt, Israel and the U.S. opened negotiations to set up a peacekeeping organization outside the framework of the UN.  The Protocol to the Treaty of Peace was signed on           3 August 1981, establishing the MFO.
   e.  The MFO has its main headquarters in Rome, where it is headed by the Director-General.  It also has two regional offices, in Tel Aviv and Cairo, while the Force itself is based in Zone C on the Sinai Peninsula, under the command of the Force Commander.

8.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army.  

   a.  The DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty, providing a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge.  
   
   b.  Table 2-1 provided instruction pertaining to the completion of the DD Form 214.  Specifically, it provided that for active duty Soldiers who deployed with their unit during a continuous period of active service, the statement "SERVICE IN (name of country deployed) FROM (inclusive dates, YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD)" would be included in item 18 when the DD Form 214 was prepared.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for correction of his DD Form 214 to show he was awarded the ARCOM, and to show his foreign service in support of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, was carefully considered.

2.  Permanent orders awarded him the ARCOM, which is not shown on his       DD Form 214.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show this individual award.

3.  The evidence of record shows he served with U.S. Battalion Task Force 2-14 Infantry, as part of the MFO in the Sinai, during the period 2 November 1990 through 4 March 1991.  As a result of this foreign service, he was authorized the Multinational Force and Observers Medal and his DD Form 214 was annotated to show this foreign service medal.

4.  His DD Form 214 shows he was authorized the Multinational Force and Observers Medal; however, it does not otherwise show his completion of foreign service in the Sinai.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his DD Form 214 to show he completed 4 months and 3 days of foreign service.

5.  Additionally, it would be appropriate to amend item 18 of his DD Form 214 by adding the statement "SERVICE IN SINAI, EGYPT, FROM 19901102 – 19910304."

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  amending item 13 of his DD Form 214 to add the Army Commendation Medal, 







and by amending item 18 of his DD Form 214 to show the entry "SERVICE IN SINAI, EGYPT FROM 19901015 – 19910424."
   
   
   
   
   
      ___________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)                                         AR20150001574



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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


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