BOARD DATE:	  2 June 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150004896 


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 that a memorandum unfavorably considering him for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal be removed from his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)).

2.  The applicant states:

* the memorandum disqualifying him from award of the Army Good Conduct Medal was not written and submitted in accordance with Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), paragraphs 4-8c and d
* the memorandum refers to the wrong Army regulation and does not include the period of disqualification
* it failed to meet its intended purpose since he was later awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period of disqualification

3.  The applicant provides:

* email correspondence from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command
* B Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, memorandum, dated 12 March 2002
* 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Permanent Orders 267-14, dated 24 September 2004



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 5 January 1999 and he is currently serving in the rank of staff sergeant.

2.  A review of the applicant's military records reveals the performance folder of his OMPF contains a memorandum from the Commander, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, dated 12 March 2002, subject:  Good Conduct Medal, which states:

* the applicant was unfavorably considered for the Army Good Conduct Medal
* he was unfavorably considered for the Army Good Conduct Medal by his chain of command due to receiving a conviction for driving under the influence (DUI)
* he did not meet the requirements for qualification in accordance with Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Military Awards)
* the applicant understood the reasons he was not receiving the award and had been duly counseled
* the memorandum was signed by both the applicant and the applicant's company commander

3.  The applicant's performance folder of his OMPF also contains the following permanent orders:

* 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Permanent Orders 267-14, dated 24 September 2004, awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal (1st Award) for the period of service from 5 January 1999 through 4 January 2002
* 6th Battalion, 101st General Support Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Permanent Orders 075-28, dated 16 March 2005, awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal (2nd Award) for the period of service from 5 January 2002 through 4 January 2005
* 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Permanent Orders 16-14, dated 16 January 2008, awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal (3rd Award) for the period of service from 5 January 2005 through 4 January 2008
* 1st Battalion, 222nd Aviation Regiment, Permanent Orders 031-07, dated 31 January 2011, awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal (4th Award) for the period of service from 5 January 2008 through 4 January 2011

4.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 preceded Army Regulation 600-8-22.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in effect and at the time of the award in question, provided policy guidance, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military decorations, medals, ribbons, badges, and similar devices awarded in recognition of accomplishments.  It stated:

	a.  The Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to each Soldier who distinguishes himself or herself from among his or her fellow Soldiers by his or her exemplary conduct, efficiency, and fidelity throughout 3 years of continuous enlisted active Federal military service.  There is no right or entitlement to the medal until the immediate commander has approved the award and the award has been announced in permanent orders.

	b.  The immediate unit commander's decision to award the Army Good Conduct Medal will be based on his or her personal knowledge and of the individual's official records for periods of service under previous commanders during the period for which the award is to be made.  The lack of official disqualifying comment by such previous commanders qualifies the use of such period toward the award by the current commander.

	c.  In instances of disqualification as determined by the unit commander, the commander will prepare a statement of the rationale for his or her decision.  This statement will include the period of disqualification and will be referred to the individual according to Army Regulation 600-37 (Unfavorable Information), paragraph 3-6.  The unit commander will consider the affected individual's statement.  If the commander's decision remains the same, the commander will forward his or her statement, the individual's statement, and his or her consideration for filing in the individual's Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) to the Commander, U.S. Army Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center, for permanent filing in the individual's OMPF.

	d.  Disqualification for an award of the Army Good Conduct Medal can occur at any time during a qualifying period (for example, when manner of performance or efficiency declines).  The custodian of the MPRJ will establish the new "beginning date" for the Soldier's eligibility for the award and indicate the date on the Soldier's DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record – Part II).

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Army Military Human Resource Records Management) governs the composition of the OMPF.  It states documents that award badges, awards, service medals, tabs, or non-Army awards as well as the revocation and amendment of such award documents will be filed in the Soldier's performance folder.  Once placed in the OMPF, the document becomes a permanent part of that file.  The document will not be removed from or moved to another part of the OMPF unless directed by certain agencies, to include this Board.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for removal of the 12 March 2002 memorandum disqualifying him from the first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal was carefully considered and found to be without merit.

2.  Although there appear to have been minor administrative errors made in writing and filing the memorandum, the errors are not material in nature nor do they conflict with the intent of the regulatory guidance at the time.

3.  While the memorandum inadvertently referenced the previous version of the military awards regulation, the intent was to inform the Soldier he did not meet the qualifications for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal as prescribed in Army regulatory guidance pertaining to awards.  The regulatory guidance itself was not incorrect, but rather the nomenclature assigned to the awards regulation.  That fact is not disputed by the applicant and the commander at the time was the appropriate authority to make the award determination.  The Soldier was convicted of a DUI offense and as a result he was found by his chain of command as not distinguishing himself from among his fellow Soldiers by exemplary conduct, efficiency, and fidelity throughout the first 3 years of his continuous enlisted active Federal military service.

4.  It is unknown whether the applicant also submitted a written statement to his commander at the time of the incident for filing with the disqualification memorandum; such statement is not filed in his OMPF.  Nonetheless, the applicant signed the disqualification memorandum acknowledging he was counseled on and understood the reasons for which he would not receive the Army Good Conduct Medal for his first 3 years of service.

5.  The disqualification memorandum was appropriately filed in the performance folder of applicant's OMPF on 12 March 2002.  Had regulatory guidance been followed, his new "beginning date" for eligibility for the first award should have been 5 January 2002.  The period of eligible service for his first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal should then have been 5 January 2002 through 4 January 2005 and not the 5 January 1999 through 4 January 2002 period of service reflected in the permanent orders awarding it to him.  This, in turn, alters the periods of service for all the subsequent Army Good Conduct Medals awarded to him.  It is unclear whether the applicant's new chain of command in September 2004 did not see the disqualification memorandum filed in his OMPF by his prior chain of command, but it is clear that it was not appropriately adhered to at the time.

6.  For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records.  The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created.  Based on the fact that the applicant's commander at the time deemed him disqualified for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal for his first 3 years of service and appropriately filed the memorandum in his OMPF, there is an insufficiently compelling reason for removing the memorandum from his OMPF and compromising the integrity of the Army's records.  The fact that the applicant was inappropriately awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period of disqualification by a subsequent commander does not negate the fact that he was found disqualified for the award during that period of service.

7.  Therefore, there is an insufficient basis for granting the applicant's request.

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 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)                                         AR20150004896



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150004896



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