DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
Application for the Correction of
the Coast Guard Record of:
BCMR Docket No. 2000-063
FINAL DECISION
ANDREWS, Attorney-Advisor:
This proceeding was conducted under the provisions of section 1552 of
title 10 and section 425 of title 14 of the United States Code. It was docketed on
February 3, 2000, when the application was completed by the receipt of the
applicant’s military records.
appointed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case.
This final decision, dated November 16, 2000, is signed by the three duly
APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS
The applicant, a former xxxxxxxxx, asked the Board to correct block 13 on
his DD Form 214 to show that he contributed to wartime action. He alleged that,
as a hospital corpsman assigned to the Coast Guard Immunization Clinic, he
“was in charge of the vaccination of ready forces prior to and during the
Grenada conflict.” He alleged that he “administered vaccinations to the Special
Forces, National Guard and other servicemen going over to that conflict.” He
stated that he worked “in the Physical Examination Office, where an ancillary
responsibility was supervising all vaccinations/ immunizations.”
The applicant indicated that he is seeking this correction because the State
of xxxxxx “issues tuition waivers for veterans with wartime service.” He argued
that the Board should waive the statute of limitations because it would be “fair”
and because he did not learn about the tuition waiver until September 1999.
SUMMARY OF THE RECORD
The applicant enlisted in the Coast Guard on December 31, 1978. After
serving on the cutter xxxxxx, he attended health services technician school in
1980. He served at the Coast Guard xxxxxxxx in xxxxxxxx, from May 1980
through June 1983. From July 1, 1983, until he was honorably discharged on
November 22, 1985, he was assigned to the hospital at the xxxxxxx. His DD 214
indicates that the awards he received during his service include a Coast Guard
Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Good Conduct Medal for his service at
the training center, as well as a Pistol Marksman Ribbon.
APPLICABLE LAWS
Commandant Instruction M1900.4B governed the preparation of DD 214s
at the time of the applicant’s discharge in 1985. Under Article 1-C of the instruc-
tion, block 13 is supposed to include “all decorations, medals, badges, commen-
dations, citations, and campaign ribbons awarded or authorized for all periods of
service,” as well as Good Conduct Awards, Purple Hearts, and Navy or Armed
Forces Expeditionary Medals.
COMDTINST M1650.25B, the Medals and Awards Manual issued on
March 29, 1995, does not provide for any campaign or service awards concerning
contributions toward the invasion of Grenada.
VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD
On July 28, 2000, the Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard submitted an advi-
sory opinion in which he recommended that the Board deny the requested relief.
The Chief Counsel argued that the application should be denied because it
“is untimely by approximately 10 years.” He argued that the applicant knew or
should have known the contents of block 13 on his DD 214 at the time of his dis-
charge and that the applicant failed to justify the delay in filing his application.
The Chief Counsel also argued that the applicant’s service “does not enti-
tle him to any award for participation in any military action or campaign.” He
alleged that the applicant “has failed to prove that a campaign or service award
applicable to Coast Guard personnel was even issued as a result of military
action in Grenada, much less his entitlement to such a possible award.”
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 sec-
tion 1552 of title 10 of the United States Code.
2.
An application to the Board must be filed within three years of the
day the applicant discovers the alleged error in his record. 10 U.S.C. § 1552. The
applicant was discharged in 1985 and knew or should have known of the content
of block 13 at that time. Therefore, the Board finds that the applicant filed his
application more than 11 years after the Board’s statute of limitations expired.
Thus, his application was untimely.
3.
4.
5.
Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552, the Board may waive the three-year
statute of limitations if it is in the interest of justice to do so. To determine
whether it is in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations, the Board
should conduct a cursory review of the merits of the case. Allen v. Card, 799 F.
Supp. 158, 164 (D.D.C. 1992).
The Coast Guard’s Medals and Awards Manual, COMDTINST
M1650.25B, does not list any campaign or service awards authorized for mem-
bers whose work supported the invasion forces in Grenada. Nor has the appli-
cant submitted any evidence indicating that such an award exists. Therefore, the
Board’s cursory review of the merits of this case indicates that block 13 on the
applicant’s DD 214 is neither incomplete or erroneous in this respect. See
COMDTINST M1900.4B, Article 1-C.
Accordingly, the Board finds that it is not in the interest of justice
to waive the statute of limitations in this case, and the applicant’s request should
be denied for untimeliness.
[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]
ORDER
The application of former XXXXXXXXX, USCG, for correction of his
military record, is hereby denied.
Robert C. Ashby
Edmund T. Sommer, Jr.
Mark A. Tomicich
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