DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2008-095 
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
 
This  proceeding  was  conducted  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 March 21, 
2008, upon receipt of the 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 December 17, 2008, is approved and signed by the three duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 
 
The  applicant,  who  was  honorably  released  from  active  duty  in  the  Coast  Guard  on 
February 11, 2007, asked the Board to correct block 11 on his DD 214 to show that he had a job 
while  in  the  military  and  how  long  he  was  an  MK3.    The  applicant  alleged  that  he  recently 
applied for a federal government job and was told he was ineligible to be hired because his active 
duty job experience did not appear in block 11. 
 

The applicant’s DD 214 shows that he enlisted on August 12, 2002; attended MK “A” 
School;  advanced  to  machinery  technician  third  class  (MK3;  pay  grade  E-4)  on  October  18, 
2003; and was released to the Reserve on February 11, 2007, upon completion of his required 
active service.  Block 11 of his DD 214 contains the notation “NA” and many Xes. 
 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 

 
On  August  12,  2008,  the  Judge  Advocate  General  of  the  Coast  Guard  submitted  an 
advisory  opinion  adopting  the  findings  and  analysis  of  the  case  provided  in  a  memorandum 
prepared by the Coast Guard Personnel Command (CGPC). 
 
CGPC stated that DD 214s are prepared in accordance with the regulations published in 
 
COMDTINST  M1900.4D.    The  instructions  in  the  manual  stated  that,  for  enlisted  personnel, 
block 11 should contain only the entry “NA.”  CGPC pointed out that the applicant’s skill rating 

and pay grade properly appear in blocks 4.a. and 4.b. of the DD 214.  CGPC also pointed out that 
the applicant did not submit anything to support his claim that he was improperly denied federal 
employment because of the lack of information in block 11, which was completed in accordance 
with regulation.  Because entering information in block 11 for an enlisted member would violate 
the regulation, CGPC recommended that the Board deny the applicant’s request. 
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On August 14, 2008, the Chair sent the applicant a copy of the views of the Coast Guard 

 
 
and invited him to respond within 30 days.  No response was received.   
 

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS 

 

Chapter 1.E. of COMDTINST M1900.4D contains the following regulations for prepar-

 
ing DD 214s: 
 

Block 4a. Grade, Rate, or Rank. Enter the abbreviation for grade or rate in which separated. The 
commissioned grade will be shown for a temporary officer reverting to permanent enlisted status 
for the purpose of retiring under the enlisted "20-year" bill and released from active duty effective 
on the same date. In the case of a cadet, enter "CADET".  
 
Block 4b. Pay Grade.   Enter the pay grade in  which separated: “O-4”, “W-1”, “E-3”, etc.  For 
cadets enter “NA”. 

Block 11. Primary Specialty Number, Title and Years and Months in Specialty.  
1. Enlisted Personnel. Enter "NA".  
2. Officers. Enter the specialty or experience indicator as shown  in current Register of Officers 
(COMDTINST M1427.1 (series)), or the Register of  Reserve Officers (COMDTINST M1427.2 
(series)).  

Block 12h. Effective Date of Pay Grade. Enter the year, month, and day as follows:  
1. Enlisted Personnel. Date of advancement.  

Block 14. Military Education. To assist the former service member in employment placement and 
job  counseling,  those  formal  service  schools  and  in-service  training  courses  captured  in  PMIS/ 
JUMPS and successfully completed during the period of service covered by the form will be in 
this  block,  e.g.,  medical  and  dental,  electronics,  supply  administration,  personnel,  or  heavy 
equipment operations. Enter all course titles, number of weeks, and year completed, from the date 
entered in block 12a through the date entered in block 12b.  

●   ●   ● 

●   ●   ● 

●   ●   ● 

Chapter  1.D.2.c.(2)  of  COMDTINST  M1900.4D  states  that  any  large  blocks  of  blank 

 
 
space on the DD 214 should contain Xes. 
 

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. 

The application is timely. 

The applicant alleged that block 11 of his DD 214 is improperly prepared because 
it fails to contain information about his job and how long he was in his rate.  The Board begins 
its analysis in every case by presuming that the disputed information in the applicant’s military 
record is correct, and the applicant bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evi-
dence that the disputed information is erroneous or unjust. 33 C.F.R. § 52.24(b).  The applicant 
did not submit any evidence to prove that his DD 214 is erroneous.   In addition, although he 
alleged that he was ineligible for a federal job because of the lack of a substantive entry in block 
11, he did not submit anything to prove this allegation of injustice.   

Preparation of a DD 214 is governed by regulation. Chapter 1.E. of COMDTINST 
M1900.4D clearly states that, for an enlisted member, block 11 should contain only the notation 
“NA,”  meaning  that  the  block  is  inapplicable  for  an  enlisted  member.    Apparently,  because 
enlisted members’ skill ratings are shown in block 4.a., block 11 is only completed for officers, 
whose job skills are not revealed by the rank shown in block 4.a.   

With  the  notation  “NA”  and  many  Xes,  block  11  of  the  applicant’s  DD  214  is 
properly prepared in accordance with Chapters 1.E. and 1.D.2.c.(2) of COMDTINST M1900.4D.  
In addition, the Board notes that the applicant’s rate of MK3 properly appears in block 4.a. of his 
DD  214;  his  date  of  advancement  to  MK3  is  properly  shown  in  block  12.h.;  and  his  military 
education is shown in block 14.  Therefore, the Board finds that the applicant has failed to prove 
that his DD 214 is improperly completed. 

 
3. 

 
4. 

 
2. 

 
5. 
 
 
 
 

Accordingly, the applicant’s request should be denied.   

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

The application of MK3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, USCGR, for correction  of his military 

ORDER 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 Vicki J. Ray 

 

 

 
 George A. Weller 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 Janice Williams-Jones 
  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

record is denied.