PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:    

	BOARD DATE:          10 December 1998                    
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AC98-09806

	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	
	Ms. Juanita I. Williams		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. JoAnn H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. James M. Alward		Member	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		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 reinstatement to the rank of sergeant first class (SFC) (E-7).  

3.  The applicant states that to his knowledge he was never scheduled for attendance at the Advanced NCO Course (ANCOC).   

4.  The applicant’s military records show that orders dated 11 December 1996 promoted him to SFC, effective 1 June 1997.  On 8 September 1997 he was notified by the Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) that his name had been administratively removed from the promotion list and his promotion to SFC had been revoked, based upon his failure to attend scheduled ANCOC.  The orders revoking his promotion granted him de facto status.  

5.  On 2 March 1998 the PERSCOM NCO Education System (NCOES) Reinstatement Panel disapproved his request for reinstatement to SFC and 
re-enrollment in ANCOC.  

6.  At the time he submitted his application, he was serving on active duty in the rank of staff sergeant (E-6).   

7.  In support of his application he submits several statements from members of his chain of command, to include his first sergeant, his job supervisor, and several senior instructors at the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, all of which may be summarized by the letter from his training NCO, an SFC.   

8.  The training NCO states that in April 1997 the applicant was scheduled for attendance at the Military Intelligence ANCOC, but because of mission requirements of the school where the applicant was an instructor, his chain of command requested that he be deferred from the class until a later date.  He then made a telephone call to the ANCOC manager, who stated that she would defer the applicant and that he would probably attend the class scheduled for September 1997.  He then informed the applicant’s chain of command of the applicant’s projected class date, at which time he learned that the applicant would not be able to attend ANCOC in September because of training scheduled for all “in-house” instructors at that time.  He then contacted the ANCOC manager to reschedule the applicant’s attendance either before or after the local training.  As a result, the applicant was then scheduled to attend the July 1997 class.  However, upon notifying the applicant’s chain of command of the new date, he learned that the applicant had a medical profile that would not permit him to take an Army physical fitness test (a prerequisite for graduation from ANCOC).

9.  The training NCO continues by stating that when he again contacted the ANCOC manager, she became very angry but agreed to another deferment, if he would E-mail her concerning the applicant, which he states he did; however, he later learned from his replacement that the applicant had not been further deferred from ANCOC and was marked a “no-show.”  He states that both he and his replacement called the ANCOC manager who stated that she did not recall the telephone conversation and did not receive an E-mail.  

10.  In the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from the 
Chief, NCOES Section, PERSCOM, who stated that in accordance with current procedural guidance for linkage of NCOES to promotion, soldiers who accept a conditional promotion and are subsequently denied enrollment, declared a “no-show,” become academic failures or otherwise do not meet graduation requirments will have their promotions revoked and will be administratively removed from the promotion list.   

11.  The opinion continues by stating that the ANCOC manager for the applicant’s career management field scheduled him for ANCOC three times in 1997 and that the applicant was a “no-show” for the 14 July 1997 ANCOC.  Further, at the time the applicant was scheduled for ANCOC, another soldier (whose name and social security number were provided) in the same command and same company was also scheduled for the same class.  He attended the class and graduated.  The opinion states that both soldiers were on the same notification sheet forwarded on 25 April 1998 to the command for confirmation (copies of the notification were provided).    

12.  One of the supporting statements submitted by the applicant is from the NCOIC of the Joint STARS Training Facility, where the applicant worked.  He states that he was notified in early June that the applicant, the soldier identified in the advisory opinion and three other SFC’s were scheduled for the July ANCOC class.  He then personally talked to the training NCO and sent him a copy of the medical profiles of the applicant and one of the other SFC’s (not the one named in the advisory opinion), at which time the training NCO informed him that “these two NCO’S would be deferred and everything would be taken care of.”  As a consequence, the applicant and the other soldier were not scheduled for a clothing inventory, PT test or formal counseling, which are standard operating procedures for soldiers attending NCOES schools.

 13.  On 15 May 1998 the Chief of Staff, United States Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, informed a member of congress that a thorough investigation had been conducted within the applicant’s chain of command regarding notification for his attendance at ANCOC.  It was stated that the investigation had revealed that the applicant had not been officially notified by his chain of command about his class dates to attend ANCOC.  It was further stated that action was then on-going to reinstate the applicant’s rank pending attendance at ANCOC, and that he would be formally notified as soon as a new class date had been confirmed.    

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  It appears that the applicant’s command attempted several times to reschedule him for attendance at the ANCOC.  However, it also appears from the statements submitted by his chain of command that the applicant may have never been personally made aware of the on-going negotiations between his chain of command and his career management field ANCOC manager for an appropriate class date.          

2.  The foregoing conclusion is supported by the letter from the applicant’s chain of command to a member of congress.  

3.  While the applicant’s promotion to SFC may have been properly revoked due to his failure to attend ANCOC, it appears his failure to attend the course was due to circumstances beyond his control, for which he should not be penalized by revocation of his promotion.      

4.  Therefore, notwithstanding the advisory opinion from the PERSCOM and the denial of the applicant’s request by the NCOES, the interests of justice would best be served in this case by reinstating the applicant to the SFC promotion list, enrolling him in the ANCOC as soon as possible, if he is fully qualified and has not already completed ANCOC , and by promoting him to SFC (E-7) upon successful completion of ANCOC, with an effective date of 1 June 1997, the date he was originally promoted.  

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:

a.  by reinstating the individual concerned to the E-7 promotion list; and  

b.  by scheduling him for enrollment in the first available and appropriate ANCOC following approval of this action by the Secretary, if he has not already completed ANCOC, and provided he is fully qualified for enrollment.       

2.  That if he meets all requirements for graduation from the ANCOC, he be promoted to SFC (E-7), effective 1June 1997, the date he was originally promoted to that grade.    

BOARD VOTE:  

___X____  ____X___  ____X__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON