DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2007-049 
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
 
This proceeding was conducted according to the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and 
section 425 of title 14 of the United States Code.  The Chair docketed the case on December 19, 
2006,  upon  receipt  of  the  application  and  military  records  and  assigned  it  to  staff  member  
J. Andrews to prepare the decision for the Board as required by 33 C.F.R. § 52.61(c). 
 
 
appointed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated August  30,  2007,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The  applicant,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Reserve,  asked  the  Board  to  correct  his  record  by 
including an Administrative Remarks form CG-3307 stating that he is entitled to wear the Coast 
Guard’s boat force insignia.  The applicant alleged that he meets all the requirements to wear the 
pin  under  COMDTINST  M16114.32A  but  that  when  he  requested  authorization  to  wear  the 
insignia, his request was denied although his command thought he was eligible and supported his 
request. 
 
 
The applicant submitted copies of two requests for the insignia, which were apparently 
denied.  The first request, dated February 12, 2005, shows that his commanding officer denied 
his request because he thought that Chapter 7.B.4. of COMDTINST M16114.32A required five 
years of active duty, which the applicant does not have.  The applicant argued that the regulation 
only  requires  five  years  of  “qualifying  service  as  an  active  member  of  the  unit’s  Ready  for 
Operations program or a Readiness and Standardization Team” and not five years of active duty.  
He submitted copies of several emails showing that, in October 2005, the Office of Boat Forces 
at Coast Guard Headquarters advised his command that the five years could be reserve or active 
duty time.  The applicant’s second request for the insignia, dated October 24, 2005, does not bear 
his commanding officer’s signature.  However, emails submitted by the applicant indicate that it 
may have been denied because his command was unconvinced that his assignments met the pre-
2002 criteria for qualifying under Chapter 7.B.4. of COMDTINST M16114.32A.   
 

In support of his allegations, the applicant also submitted copies of his officer evaluation 

reports, which show that  
 
from June 27, 1997, through September 30, 1998, the applicant was assigned to Group Cor-
• 
pus Christi and served as the “Group Operations Duty Officer” as well as a “Tactical Intelligence 
Watch Officer”; 
 
• 
tion Corpus Christi and served as the “Group/Station Operations Duty Officer”; and 
 
• 
Corpus Christi and served as the “Station Operations Duty Officer.” 
 

from August 1, 2000, through July 31, 2001, the applicant was assigned to Group/Air Station 

from October 1, 1998, through July 31, 2000, the applicant was assigned to Group/Air Sta-

In addition, the applicant submitted a letter dated May 26, 1994, which shows that he had 
completed  all  tasks  necessary  to  qualify  as  a  Communications  Watchstander  and  a  Boat 
Crewmember and had received both certifications.   

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 

1. 

 
 
Chapter 7 of COMDTINST M16114.32A bears the title “Boat Force Operations Insignia 
Criteria.”    It  states  that  the  insignia  identifies  personnel  working  in  boat  force  operations  and 
uses two color schemes to show levels of professional development.  The basic insignia is pewter 
toned.  Members with a higher level of qualification and experience may receive a pewter-toned 
insignia  with  gold-toned  compass  in  the  design  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  “gold-toned 
insignia”). 
 
 
following: 
 

Chapter 7.A. states that to wear the basic, pewter-toned insignia, an officer must have the 

Five years of cumulative service with a satisfactory conduct record at one or more 
“boat  force  field  units,”  which  are  defined  to  include Aides  to  Navigation  Teams,  Centers  of 
Excellence (NMLBS, BFC, SMTC), Security Response Teams, Standardization Teams, Stations, 
and  Strike  Teams,  as  well  as  bases,  sections,  sectors/groups,  and  marine  safety  offices  if  the 
member is assigned to a billet with direct and regular involvement in boat operations. 
 
 
A certification letter showing that the officer has qualified as a boat crewmember 
by  completing  the  appropriate  tasks  listed  in  Parts  2  though  6  of  the  Boat  Operations  and 
Training (BOAT) Manual, Volume II, COMDTINST M16114.33 (series). 
 
 
 
 
Chapter 7.A.4. states that members who are currently serving at a boat force field unit 
and who have been serving at the unit for at least six months may wear the pewter-toned insignia 
temporarily if they have completed the appropriate tasks in the BOAT Manual and have com-
mand approval. 
 

The favorable recommendation of an Operational Commander. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

 
Chapters 7.B.1., 2., and 3. provide that to wear the gold-toned insignia, an officer must 
(a) meet the criteria for the basic, pewter insignia; (b) receive certification letters showing that 
the  officer  has  qualified  as  a  boarding  team  officer  by  completing  the  personal  qualification 
standards (PQS) in COMDTINST M16247.3, and that he has qualified for boat force operations 
by  completing  the  Boat  Force  Operations  PQS  in  the  BOAT  Manual;  and  (c)  has  received  a 
favorable recommendation from the Operational Commander. 
 
Chapter 7.B.4. states that a member “who met all of the following criteria prior to 1 Sep-
 
tember 2002,” as determined by the member’s commanding officer, can also wear the gold-toned 
insignia: 
 

Five years of cumulative service with a satisfactory conduct record at one or more 
“boat  force  field  units,”  which  are  defined  to  include Aides  to  Navigation  Teams,  Centers  of 
Excellence (NMLBS, BFC, SMTC), Security Response Teams, Standardization Teams, Stations, 
and  Strike  Teams,  as  well  as  bases,  sections,  sectors/groups,  and  marine  safety  offices  if  the 
member is assigned to a billet with direct and regular involvement in boat operations. 
 
 
For three of the five years of qualifying service, the member must be assigned to 
serve  as  a  Qualified  Sector/Group  Operations  Center  Watchstander,  an  Operations  Officer  or 
Assistant Operations Officer, an Engineering Petty Officer, Engineering Officer, Executive Petty 
Officer,  Executive  Officer,  Officer  in  Charge,  or  Commanding  Officer  of  the  boat  force  field 
unit. 
 
 
For two of the five  years of qualifying service, the member must be “an active 
member  of  a  unit’s  Ready  for  Operations  Program  or  a  Readiness  and  Standardization  Team 
member.  This includes legacy units such as District/Sector/Group staff or COEs in which mem-
bers performed duties directly related to the Ready for Operations Program or the Readiness and 
Standardization Program.” 
 
 
Chapters  7.A.5.  and  7.B.5.  state  that  commanding  officers  must  review  the  member’s 
record to ensure that all the criteria have been met before authorizing the member to wear the 
insignias. 
 

The glossary of COMDTINST M16114.32A defines a Ready for Operations (RFO) Team 
as a team of at least three “members designated by the Operational Commander … [to] conduct 
annual assessment visits to ensure the goals of the Readiness and Standardization Program are 
achieved.”  It defines a Standardization (STAN) Team as a “three- to five-member deployable 
evaluation team … [that] conducts biennial assessment visits to ensure the goals of the Readiness 
and Standardization Assessment (outlined in this Manual) are achieved.” 
 
 
ALCOAST 490/05, issued on October 4, 2005, states that Enhanced Maritime Safety and 
Security Teams (EMSST) and Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST) “meet the service 
eligibility requirements for the Boat Force Operations Insignia” in COMDTINST M16114.32A. 
 
 
Chapter 6-4-1 of Coast Guard Regulations states that the Operations Officer is “the head 
of the Operations Department.  In addition to those duties prescribed elsewhere in these regula-

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 

 
 
On June 1, 2007, the Judge Advocate General of the Coast Guard submitted an advisory 
opinion in which he recommended that the Board grant partial relief in this case by correcting the 
applicant’s record to show that he had authorization to wear the pewter-toned insignia, but not 
the  gold-toned  insignia.    He  adopted  the  findings  and  analysis  of  the  case  provided  in  a 
memorandum by the Coast Guard Personnel Command (CGPC).   
 
 
CGPC  noted  that  in  submitting  his  request  for  a  Boat  Force  Operations  Insignia,  the 
applicant did not specify whether he was asking for authorization to wear the basic insignia or 
the  gold-toned  insignia.    CGPC  stated  that  it  appears  that  the  applicant’s  commanding  officer 
initially denied the request for a pewter-toned insignia only because he erroneously believed that 
the criteria included five years of active duty and that Reserve service was not qualifying service.  
Because this belief was erroneous, CGPC argued, the applicant’s record should be corrected to 
show that he is entitled to wear the pewter-toned insignia. 
 
 
CGPC alleged that the applicant should not be awarded the gold-toned insignia because 
his “record does not support that he has met either the [current] basic qualifications for the [gold-
toned]  insignia  or  the  alternate  ‘grandfathered’  provisions  for  eligibility  prior  to  September  1, 
2002.”    In  support  of  these  allegations,  CGPC  submitted  a  Career  Summary  for  the  applicant 
from its database, which shows that the applicant has been assigned to operational units on South 
Padre  Island  and  Group  Corpus  Christi  for  much  of  his  career  and  that  he  attended  Boarding 
Team Member School in 1995 and qualified as a “Boarding Officer (Marine Safety)” in 2005. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On June 4, 2007, the Chair sent the applicant a copy of the Coast Guard’s advisory opin-
ion and invited him to respond within 30 days.  On June 16, 2007, the applicant responded to the 
advisory opinion. 
 
 
The applicant stated that his OERs from June 1997 through July 2001 show that he met 
the requirements for a gold-toned insignia because he served as an Operations Officer for more 
than three years.  He alleged that in serving as an Operations Officer he was “an active member 
of the respective units’ Ready for Operations program.” 
 

tions for the head of a department, the Operations Officer shall be responsible for the collection, 
evaluation, and dissemination of operational and combat information required for the assigned 
missions and tasks … .” 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

The Board makes the following findings and conclusions on the basis of the applicant's 

 
 
military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and applicable law: 
 

1. 

The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552.  
The application was timely because the applicant twice applied for and was denied authorization 
to wear the Boat Force Operations Insignia in 2005. 

 The  Coast  Guard  stated  that  the  applicant  should  be  authorized  to  wear  the 
pewter-toned Boat Force Operations Insignia because in 2005 his commanding officer reviewed 
his record and denied his request only because the applicant did not have five  years of active 
duty, which the commanding officer mistakenly believed to be a criterion under the regulation.  
The  Coast  Guard  stated  that  five  years  of  Reserve  service  at  boat  force  field  units  meets  the 
criterion for a pewter-toned insignia under Chapter 7.A.1.  The preponderance of the evidence 
indicates that the applicant qualified as a boat crewmember and communications watchstander in 
1994  and  that  his  commanding  officer  denied  his  request  for  a  pewter-toned  insignia  only 
because he thought that the applicant had to have five years of active duty, rather than Reserve 
duty, at a boat force field unit to be eligible.  As the regulation does not appear to require five 
years of active duty at such a unit and both CGPC and the Headquarters Office of Boat Forces 
have  concluded  that  the  commanding  officer’s  interpretation  of  the  regulation  was  wrong,  the 
Board  finds  that  the  applicant  should  be  authorized  to  wear  the  pewter-toned  Boat  Force 
Operations Insignia. 

 
2. 

 
3. 

 
5. 

The applicant alleged that he has met the criteria in effect prior to September 1, 
2002, for wearing the gold-toned insignia.  Under Chapter 7.B.4. of COMDTINST M16114.32A, 
prior to September 1, 2002, an officer must not only have five years of cumulative service at a 
boat force field unit and be recommended by his commander, but he must have spent at least 
three of the five years assigned as a Qualified Sector or Group Operations Center Watchstander, 
an Operations Officer or Assistant Operations Officer, an Engineering Petty Officer, Engineering 
Officer, Executive Petty Officer, Executive Officer, Officer in Charge, or Commanding Officer; 
and at least two of the five years as “an active member of a unit’s Ready for Operations Program 
or  a  Readiness  and  Standardization  Team  member.”    The  applicant  did  not  specify  how  his 
assignments  met  both  of  these  very  specific  criteria,  and  it  is  not  clear  to  the  Board  that  his 
service as an Operations Duty Officer for the Air Station and the Group met the criteria.  CGPC 
has  stated  that  the  applicant  has  not  met  the  criteria  for  the  gold-toned  insignia,  and  his 
commanding  officer  apparently  did  not  approve  the  applicant’s  request  for  the  insignia  in 
October 2005 even after the command learned through emails from the Office of Boat Forces 
that Reserve service at a boat force field unit was qualifying service for the insignia. 
 

The Board also is not persuaded that the applicant has met the current criteria for 
authorization  to  wear  the  gold-toned  insignia,  as  provided  in  Chapter  7.B.2.  of  COMDTINST 
M16114.32A.  Although his records show that he attended Boarding Team Member School in 
1995  and  qualified  as  a  “Boarding  Officer  (Marine  Safety)”  in  2005,  his  record  contains  no 
certification letter showing that he has qualified by completing the Boat Force Operations PQS in 
the BOAT Manual nor any indication of his operational commander’s recommendation. 

4. 

 
Accordingly, the Board finds that the applicant has proved by a preponderance of 
the  evidence  that  he  should  be  authorized  to  wear  the  pewter-toned  Boat  Force  Operations 
Insignia, but he has not proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he should be authorized 
to wear the gold-toned Boat Force Operations Insignia. 

 

ORDER 

 

The application of xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCGR, for correction  of his military 

record is granted in part as follows:   

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 Francis H. Esposito 

 
The  Coast  Guard  shall  correct  his  record  by  adding  a  CG-3307  to  show  that  he  is 
authorized to wear the pewter-toned Boat Force Operations Insignia in accordance with Chapter 
7.A. of COMDTINST M16114.32A. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 Darren S. Wall 

 

 
 Nancy L. Friedman