DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2007-172 
 
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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 August 3, 2007, upon receipt 
of  the  applicant’s  completed  application,  and  assigned  it  to  staff  member  J.  Andrews  to  pre-
pare 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  April  10,  2008,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The applicant, who retired from the Coast Guard on October 31, 1998, upon completing 
more than twenty years of active duty asked the Board to correct his final DD 214 by changing 
the  date  of  his  entry  on  active  duty  in  block  12a  from  May  1,  1987,  to  May  1,  1978.    The 
applicant alleged that he discovered the error on September 14, 2006. 
 

SUMMARY OF THE RECORD 

The applicant’s original enlistment contract shows that he enlisted on May 1, 1978.  After 
extending  his  enlistment  for  four  years,  he  was  honorably  discharged  on  April  30,  1987,  and 
issued a DD 214 covering his active duty since May 1, 1978.  The pertinent entries in block 12 of 
this first DD 214 appear in the table below. 

 

 
 

 

 

12. RECORD OF SERVICE 
a.  Date Entered AD This Period 
b.  Separation Date This Period 
c.  Net Active Service This Period 
d.  Total Prior Active Service 

Year(s) 

Month(s) 

Day(s) 

78 
87 
09 
00 

05 
04 
00 
00 

01 
30 
00 
00 

 
The applicant reenlisted the day after his discharge, May 1, 1987, and so had no break in 
service,  and  he  continued  serving  on  active  duty,  by  extending  this  enlistment,  until  his 

retirement on October 31, 1998.  The DD 214 issued upon his retirement covers his service from 
May 1, 1987, through October 31, 1998.  The pertinent entries in block 12 of his final DD 214 
appear in the table below. 

 

12. RECORD OF SERVICE 
a.  Date Entered AD This Period 
b.  Separation Date This Period 
c.  Net Active Service This Period 
d.  Total Prior Active Service 

Year(s) 

Month(s) 

Day(s) 

87 
98 
11 
09 

05 
10 
06 
00 

01 
31 
00 
00 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
 
On December 13, 2007, the Judge Advocate General of the Coast Guard submitted an 
advisory opinion in which he recommended that the Board deny the applicant’s request based on 
an  attached  memorandum  on  the  case  prepared  by  the  Coast  Guard  Personnel  Command 
(CGPC).  CGPC stated that under COMDTINST M1900.4, block 12a on a DD 214 is supposed 
to show the “Date Entered Active Duty This Period.”  Since the applicant’s first enlistment from 
May 1, 1978, through April 30, 1987, is properly documented on his first DD 214, block 12a on 
his second DD 214 should show the date that he entered a new period of active duty by executing 
a  new  enlistment  contract.    CGPC  concluded  that  the  applicant’s  two  DD  214s  “accurately 
capture the time [he] served on active duty with the Coast Guard.  His final DD 214 …, issued 
on October 31, 1998, includes in item 12d the 9 years of active duty brought forward from his 
previous DD 214.”  Therefore, CGPC stated that the applicant’s request should be denied. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On December 18, 2007, the Chair sent the applicant a  copy of the views of the Coast 

 
 
Guard and invited him to respond within thirty days.  No response was received.  
 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 

 

 

Chapter 1.E. of COMDTINST M1900.4D, the manual for preparing DD 214s, provides 

 
 
the following instructions for completing block 12: 
 

Block 12a. Date Entered Active Duty This Period. Enter the date of entry on active duty.  

Block 12b. Separation Date This Period. Enter the effective date of release/discharge. For person-
nel  being  retired,  enter  the  last  day  of  active  duty  in  this  block  and  enter  the  effective  date  of 
retirement in block 18, Remarks. … 
.  
Block 12c. Net Active Service This Period. Enter the years, months, and days of service creditable 
for basic pay purposes for the period from date entered active duty this period (block 12a) through 
date of separation (block 12b). … 

Block 12d. Total Prior Active Service. Enter the years, months, and days of service creditable for 
basic pay for all active service prior to the date entered in block 12a. … 

 

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 section 1552 of title 

10 of the United States Code. 

An application to the Board must be filed within three  years after the applicant 
discovers the alleged error in his record. 10 U.S.C. § 1552.  The applicant was issued his final 
DD  214  in  1998  and  knew  or  should  have  known  at  that  time  that  it  covered  only  his  final 
enlistment.  Therefore, the Board finds that his application was untimely. 

1. 

 
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6. 

 
 

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.   

The applicant stated only that he had discovered the alleged errors recently and 

did not provide any explanation as to why he did not submit an application sooner. 

As CGPC stated in the advisory opinion, under COMDTINST M1900.4D, a DD 
214 covers only one period of active duty—specifically an enlistment (as extended)—and does 
not  normally  cover  a  member’s  entire  service  unless  the  member  enlisted  once  and  never 
reenlisted.  The record shows that the applicant enlisted in 1978 and then was discharged and 
immediately  reenlisted  in  1987.    The  entry  and  separation  dates  of  this  first  enlistment  are 
reflected correctly on the first DD 214 he was issued.  Likewise, his second and final DD 214 
correctly reflects the entry and separation dates for his second and final enlistment, and the nine 
years  of  his  first  enlistment  are  properly  shown  in  block  12d.    Therefore,  the  Board  finds  no 
evidence of any error in block 12 of the applicant’s DD 214s.  In addition, the Board notes that 
the applicant has not shown that he has been prejudiced by his two DD 214s.  If he believes he 
has been harmed, he may reapply to the Board and explain what injustice he has suffered. 

Accordingly, the Board finds it is not in the interest of justice to waive the statute 

of limitations in this case, and it should be denied because it is untimely and it lacks merit. 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE] 

The application of retired MK1 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCG, for  correction 

ORDER 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 Dorothy J. Ulmer 

 

 

 

 
 
 Thomas H. Van Horn 

 

 

 
 
 Darren S. Wall 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of his military record is denied.