DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2008-007 
 
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FINAL DECISION 

 

 
 

 

This is a proceeding under 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  October  12,  2007,  upon 
receipt of the applicant’s completed application, 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  June  24,  2008,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The applicant, who was discharged from the Coast Guard in 1963, asked the Board to 
correct his record to show that he is entitled to wear the Arctic Service Medal.  He alleged that in 
1960, he was serving aboard the USCGC Storis when the cutter sailed north of the Arctic Circle 
for more than twenty-one days.  He stated that from June 15, 1960, to July 14, 1960, the crew of 
the cutter performed DEW Line operations and surveyed the medical and dental needs of native 
Alaskans from Point Barrow through the Bering Sea and down the chain of Aleutian Islands.  He 
noted that he received a recognition patch for performing a Bering Sea patrol.  He alleged that he 
is eligible for the patch because he served north of the Arctic Circle for more than twenty-one 
days. 
 
 
The  applicant  alleged  that  he  discovered  the  error  on  September  13,  2007,  when  he 
learned about the Arctic Service Medal while attending the 50th anniversary celebration of the 
North American northwest passage of the USCGC Storis, Bramble, and Spar in 1958.  He stated 
that at the celebration, a Vice Admiral presented the crewmembers who served during the north-
west passage with the Article Service Medal.  In support of his allegations, the applicant submit-
ted copies of the following records: 
 

•  The  applicant’s  DD  214  shows  that  he  performed  11  months  and  18  days  of  foreign 
and/or sea service during his active duty enlistment from August 18, 1959, to August 16, 
1963.  It also indicates that he received a Good Conduct Medal while in the Service. 

 

 

 

 

 

•  A form CG-3307 (“Page 7”) and a pay adjustment record indicate that on December 22, 

1959, the applicant was transferred to the Storis, whose homeport was Kodiak, Alaska. 

•  A certificate shows that on June 15, 1960, while serving aboard the USCGC Storis, the 

applicant crossed the Arctic Circle. 

•  A Page 7 notes that on December 9, 1960, the applicant was transferred from the Storis to 
a shore unit in Detroit, Michigan, after having served 11 months and 9 days aboard the 
cutter and outside the continental United States. 

•  The applicant’s Honorable Discharge certificate from the Coast Guard Reserve is dated 

August 17, 1965. 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On March 4, 2008, the Judge Advocate General submitted an advisory opinion in which 
he adopted the findings  and analysis provided in a memorandum on the  case prepared by the 
Coast Guard Personnel Command (CGPC).  CGPC recommended that the Board deny the appli-
cant’s request. 
 

CGPC noted that the application was untimely.  Regarding the merits of the applicant’s 
request, CGPC stated that under Article 5.A.5.a.(1) of the Medals and Awards Manual, to receive 
the Arctic Service Medal, a member must “serve for a minimum period of 21 non-consecutive 
days under competent orders in waters north of 66°33’N (during summer operations) or north of 
latitude 60° North in the Bering Sea, Davis Strait, or Denmark Strait.”  CGPC further noted that 
in Enclosure (14) to the Medals and Awards Manual, the last period listed for which the crew of 
the Storis was eligible for the Arctic Service Medal is July 13 through August 8, 1959. 

 
CGPC stated that the applicant’s record does not substantiate his eligibility for the Arctic 
Service Medal.  Although the certificate indicates that the Storis crossed the Arctic Circle while 
he was aboard, it does not show that the Storis remained north of the Arctic Circle for more than 
21 days while the applicant was aboard from December 22, 1959, to December 9, 1960.  CGPC 
noted that the Medals and Awards Manual does not indicate that the crew of the Storis met the 
requirements for the medal any time in 1960. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
and invited him to submit a response within thirty days.  No response was received. 

On March 6, 2008, the Chair sent the applicant a copy of the views of the Coast Guard 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 

 
The Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal was authorized on May 20, 1976, and made retro-
 
active to January 1, 1946.  Under Article 5.A.5.a.(1) of the Medals and Awards Manual, the Arc-
tic Service Medal may be awarded to “[a]ny member of the Coast Guard who, during summer 

operations (1 May to 31 October), serves in any Coast Guard mission north of the Arctic Circle 
(66°33’N); or any member of the Coast Guard who, during winter operations (1 November to 30 
April), serves or has served aboard a Coast Guard vessel operating in polar waters north of lati-
tude  60  degrees  North  in  the  Bering  Sea,  Davis  Strait,  or  Denmark  Strait.  Minimum  time 
requirement is 21 nonconsecutive days under competent orders.” 
 
 
Enclosure (14) to the Medals and Awards Manual lists the cutters and periods for which 
the crews of those cutters were eligible for the Arctic Service Medal.  The last period listed for 
the USCGC Storis is “13 Jul 59 - 8 Aug 59.” 
 

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: 
 

The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552.   

1. 

 

   
3. 

 
4. 

 
5. 

2. 

Under 10 U.S.C. § 1552(b) and 33 C.F.R. § 52.22, an application to the Board 
should be filed within three years of when the applicant discovered or reasonably should have 
discovered the alleged error in his record.  The Arctic Service Medal was authorized on May 20, 
1976, and the applicant could and should have submitted his application within three years of 
that date.  Therefore, his application was untimely. 

Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552(b), the  Board may  excuse the untimeliness of an 
application if it is in the interest of justice to do so.  In Allen v. Card, 799 F. Supp. 158, 164 
(D.D.C. 1992), the court stated that to determine whether the interest of justice supports a waiver 
of the statute of limitations, the Board “should analyze both the reasons for the delay and the 
potential merits of the claim based on a cursory review.”  The court further instructed that “the 
longer the delay has been and the weaker the reasons are for the delay, the more compelling the 
merits would need to be to justify a full review.”  Id. at 164, 165.   See also Dickson v. Secretary 
of Defense, 68 F.3d 1396 (D.C. Cir. 1995).   

The applicant stated that he was unaware that the Arctic Service Medal had been 
authorized until 2007.  However, nothing prevented the applicant from learning about the medal 
when it was authorized in 1976.   

The Board’s review indicates that the applicant’s claim has little or no potential to 
succeed on the merits.  He alleged that he is eligible for the Arctic Service Medal because he was 
a crewmember aboard the Storis when it crossed the Arctic Circle on June 15, 1960.  He stated 
that from June 15 to July 14, 1960, the crew performed DEW Line operations and surveyed the 
medical and dental needs of native Alaskans from Point Barrow south through the Bering Sea 
and down the chain of Aleutian  Islands.  Under Article  5.A.5.a.(1) of the Medals and Awards 
Manual, to receive the Arctic Service Medal for service from May 1 to October 31 of any year, a 
member must have served at least 21 days north of the Arctic Circle.  Point Barrow is north of 
the Arctic Circle on the north coast of Alaska, but the Bering Sea and all of the Aleutian Islands 
are south of the Arctic Circle.  Assuming arguendo that the Storis spent the month from June 15 

to  July  14  as  the  applicant  described—i.e.,  in  underway  operations  from  Point  Barrow  south 
through the Bering Sea and along the Aleutian chain—it is unlikely that he spent 21 days north 
of the Arctic Circle because only a fraction of the journey he describes is north of the Arctic Cir-
cle.  Moreover, the applicant was assigned to the Storis from December 22, 1959, to December 
9, 1960, and Enclosure (14) to the Medals and Awards Manual, which lists the periods for which 
the crew of the Storis is eligible for the Arctic Service Medal, does not list any period in 1960.  

 
6. 

Accordingly, the Board will not waive the statute of limitations, and the applica-

tion should be denied for untimeliness and apparent lack of merit. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

The application of former xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCG, for correction of his 

ORDER 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

        

 
 Jeff M. Neurauter 

 

 

 
 Lynda K. Pilgrim 

 

 

 
 
 Eric J. Young 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

military record is denied.