PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            5 May 1999       
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998013568

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Kenneth Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. James  M. Alward		Chairperson	
	Mr. John Saputo		Member	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests retroactive promotion to Captain, correction of her          DD Form 214 to show that she completed officer advanced course (OAC), and a copy of her official records. 

3.  The applicant states that she did not receive credit for four years in the Reserve Control Group after her release from active duty on 30 September 1995.  She was promised a promotion to Captain, which did not occur.  Her DD Form 214 does not show completion of advanced course.  She requested a copy of her official file, but never received it.  Her medical records are incomplete. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that she was appointed a Reserve second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps on 2 December 1982, accepting her commission on 11 January 1983.  She entered on active duty on 8 February 1983, completed the AMEDD officer basic course at Fort Sam Houston, and was assigned to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston after completion of training.  She was promoted to first lieutenant on 8 August 1984.    

5.  A 28 March 1984 medical record shows that she received breasts implants on the previous day. 

6.  The applicant received an officer evaluation report for the period 26 August 1984 through 3 August 1985, in which her rater stated that she often failed requirements and that she should not be promoted.  Her senior rater stated that following her release from active duty careful examination should be made of her service record before selection to the Army Reserves.  He placed her in the bottom block in the potential evaluation portion of that report.

7.  Orders were published by Headquarters, Fort Sam Houston on 23 August 1985 releasing her from active duty effective 30 September 1985 and transferring her to the Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) at St. Louis.  She had 2 years,    7 months, and 23 days of service.  Her DD Form 214 shows that the termination date of her Reserve obligation was 7 February 1989.

8.  A service school academic report shows that she completed the AMEDD officer advanced course (non-resident) on 20 November 1985, after her release from active duty. 

9.  An officer evaluation report for the period 17 August 1986 through                          13 September 1986 shows that she was on active duty for training at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. 

10.   On 3 May 1995 the applicant requested to the National Personnel Records Center that she be furnished a complete copy of her personnel records, to include her medical records.  On 27 December 1995 that agency forwarded all except her medical records, and was informed to contact the VA in order to obtain those records.
11.  Sometime in May of 1995 she requested her medical records from the VA, stating that she needed implant surgery and her doctor needed the medical information. She also needed those records to file a class action suit against a civilian medical company for the damaged implants.

12.  In September 1997 she again requested a complete copy of her personnel records, stating that all she received in the past was a copy of her DD Form 214. She also requested the name of the manufacturer of the silicone breast implant that she received in 1984.  

13.  In January 1998 she requested assistance from a member of congress in her claim to the VA for service connected disability related to the breast implant, stating that the VA had only awarded her a 10 percent disability rating.

14.  In February 1998 she requested assistance from the National Personnel Records Center in obtaining information regarding the manufacturer of her breast implants. 

15.  Information obtained from an official of the Promotions Branch, Total Army Personnel Command at St. Louis on 27 April 1999 is that the applicant was never considered for promotion to Captain because computer information shows that she was discharged from the Army on 1 October 1985 and not transferred to the Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training).  Had information shown that she was assigned to the Annual Training Control Group, she would have been considered for promotion to Captain in January 1987, and if selected, would have been promoted on 7 August 1988, four years from the date she was promoted to first lieutenant.   

16.  Army Regulation 135-155 prescribes policy and procedures used in the promotion of commissioned officers in the Army Reserve.  Table 2-1 of that regulation states, in effect, that in order to be promoted to Captain, an officer must have 4 years time in grade as a first lieutenant.

17.  Paragraph 3-14 of that regulation states, in pertinent part, that standby advisory boards are formed to prevent any injustice to an officer or former officers who were eligible for promotion but whose records through error, were not submitted to a promotion selection board for consideration.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was transferred to the Annual Training Control Group after her release from active duty on 30 September 1985.  Her orders reflect this transfer, and, she had to have some military status in order to be on active duty for training in Hawaii in 1986.  Consequently, records at St. Louis should reflect her assignment to that control group on 1 October 1985.  

2.  The applicant may have been eligible for promotion consideration to Captain during her assignment to that control group, but not considered because records erroneously reflected that she was discharged on 1 October 1985.  Therefore, her records should be reviewed to determine her eligibility for promotion consideration to Captain by a standby advisory board.

3.  She completed the advanced course after her release from active duty; therefore, the applicant’s DD Form 214 is considered correct.  No change is necessary.   

4.  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the VA are responsible for the maintenance of her personnel records and her medical records, respectively.  She should continue her attempts to obtain information from those agencies.      

5.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was released from active duty on                   30 September 1985 and transferred to the Army Reserve Control Group (Annual Training) on 1 October 1985. 

2.  That upon completion of the foregoing, her records be reviewed to determine her eligibility for promotion consideration to Captain by an Army Reserve standby advisory board. 

3.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied. 

BOARD VOTE:  

__jma___  __js____  ___rwa__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998013568	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990505	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 110.00		
2. 131.03		
3. 100.00		
4.		
5.		
6.