DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2005-135 
 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, LCDR USCGR   
   

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
AUTHOR:  Ulmer, D. 
 
 
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  application  was 
docketed  on  July  15,  2005,  upon  receipt  of  the  applicant’s  completed  application  and 
military records. 
 
 
members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated  April  5,  2006,  is  signed  by  the  three  duly  appointed 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
 The  applicant  asked  the  Board  to  correct  his  DD  Form  214  (Certificate  of 
Discharge or Release from Active Duty) to show that he has twenty-seven years, five 
months, and twenty-one days of satisfactory federal service.  The applicant alleged that 
the correction would ensure that he has a permanent record of his service.   
 

The  applicant  is  a  member  of  the  Coast  Guard  Reserve  and  served  occasional 
periods of active duty.  His most recent DD Form 214 covers a three-month period of 
active duty, from July 1, 2004 to September 30, 2004, in Blocks 12.a., b. and c.  Block 12.d. 
of  the  DD-214  shows  that  the  applicant's  prior  active  duty  service  totaled  two  years, 
seven  months,  and  nine  days,  and  block  12.e.  shows  that  his  prior  inactive  service 
totaled  thirty  years,  ten  months,  and  seventeen  days.    Blocks  12.f.  and  e.  show  no 
foreign service or sea service, respectively.  January 5, 1995, is the effective date of the 
applicant's pay grade in Block 12.h.    
 

 
The  applicant  submitted  an  October  29,  2004,  letter  from  the  Coast  Guard  Pay 
and Service Center.  The letter stated that the Pay and Service Center had discovered a 
discrepancy on the applicant's retirement point statement, which had been corrected by 
the issuance of a new retirement point statement dated November 1, 2004, showing that 
the applicant had twenty-seven years, five months, and twenty-one days of satisfactory 
service.  The letter directed the applicant's personnel reporting unit (PERSRU) to place a 
copy of the corrected retirement point statement in the applicant's Personal Data Record 
and to forward the original to the applicant.   
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On  November  29,  2005,  the  Judge  Advocate  General  (JAG)  of  the Coast  Guard 
submitted  an  advisory  opinion  recommending  that  the  Board  deny  the  applicant’s 
request.    The  JAG  stated  that  the  Reserve  Retirement  Point  Statement  is  the  proper 
permanent record of the applicant's satisfactory service.  The JAG further stated that it 
is inconsistent with the Coast Guard's policy to include such information on DD Forms 
214.  
 

The JAG attached a memorandum from the Commander, Coast Guard Personnel 
Command  (CGPC)  as  Enclosure  (1)  to  the  advisory  opinion  and  asked  the  Board  to 
accept it as part of the views of the Coast Guard.  CGPC recommended denial of the 
applicant's request for relief and offered the following conclusions: 
 

1.  The applicant's request to include notation of his satisfactory service on 
his DD-214 is inconsistent with current policy on completion of the DD-
214.    There  is  no  provision  within  (COMDTINST  M1900.4D  (Instruction 
on completing DD-214)) to include Reserve satisfactory service on the DD-
214  and  [it]  specifically  prohibits 
inclusion  of  non-specified 
information. 
 
2.    The  applicant  contends  that  his  satisfactory  service  needs  to  be 
documented  on  the  DD-214  to  become  part  of  his  "permanent  record  of 
service."    The  applicant's  service  record  includes  .  .  .  CG-4175A  of 
November  1,  2004,  which  documents  [the  applicant's]  record  of  Reserve 
retirement points and satisfactory service.   

the 

 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On November 30, 2005, the BCMR sent the applicant a copy of the views of the 
Coast Guard and invited him to respond.  The BCMR did not receive a response from 
the applicant. 
 

APPLICABLE LAW 

 

COMDTINST M1900.4D (DD FORM 214 INSTRUCTION) 
 
 
Section  4.  of  the  introduction  to  the  Instruction  states  that  the  DD  Form  214 
provides the member and the service with a concise record of a period of service with 
the  Armed  Forces  at  the  time  of  the  member's  separation,  discharge,  or  change  in 
military  status  (reserve/active  duty).    This  provision  further  states  that  the  DD  Form 
214  is  an  authoritative  source  of  information  for  both  the  governmental  agencies  and 
the Armed Forces for purposes of employment, benefits and reenlistment eligibility.   
 
 
Chapter 1.D.2. of the Instruction states that only those items specifically directed 
are to be entered on the DD Form 214.  There is no direction in the instruction that a 
member's satisfactory federal service is to be recorded on the DD Form 214.    
 

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 section 1552 

of title 10 of the United States Code.  The application was timely. 

 
2.  The applicant failed to prove that the Coast Guard committed an error by not 
including his satisfactory years of federal service on his DD Form 214.  The DD Form 
214  instruction  states  that  only  information  specified  by  the  instruction  shall  be 
included on the DD Form 214.  There is no identified space for satisfactory service on 
the  DD  Form  214;  nor  is  there  anything  in  the  instruction  that  states  such  should  be 
included in block 18 (remarks section) of the DD Form 214.   

 
3.  The applicant's November 1, 2004, corrected retirement point statement (CG-
4175A)  showing  twenty-seven  years,  five  months,  and  twenty-one  days  of  total 
satisfactory service has been included in the applicant's military record.  According to 
the Coast Guard, the retirement point statement is the proper method to record satis-
factory federal service.   
 

4. 

Accordingly, the applicant’s request should be denied.  

 
 
 

 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES ON FOLLOWING PAGE] 

 
 
 

The application of LCDR XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, USCGR, for correction of his 

ORDER 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

military record is denied. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

        

 
 Frank H. Esposito 

 

 

 
 Jordan S. Fried 

 

 

 
 William R. Kraus