PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            4 November 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998013630

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Elizabeth Buchanon		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.		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, in effect, that his reenlistment contract be corrected to reflect an indefinite reenlistment period.  

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was unaware of the requirement to reenlist in the USAR every 6 years in order to remain eligible for receipt of his payments under the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP).  He further states that he was not informed by the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) of the need to do so and was discharged from the USAR without his knowledge.  As a result, his VSIP payments were stopped.  He also states that he was granted authorization to reenlist and his contract was antedated; however, he has since been informed that the 26-year period indicated on his contract is incorrect.  Therefore, he desires to be granted an exception to policy to reenlist for an indefinite period so that he will not have to reenlist every 6 years in order to receive his VSIP payments. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 4 February 1992, while serving in the pay grade of E-5, the applicant submitted a request for separation under the Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) option of the VSIP.  He acknowledged that he had been briefed on his obligation to serve in the USAR as a condition of receiving payments under the VSIP as outlined in MILPER Message number   92-85 dated 7 January 1992.  His request was approved on 28 February 1992.

5.  Accordingly, he was honorably released from active duty on 29 September 1992 under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 4, and the VSIP. He had served 13 years, 11 months, and 9 days of total active service and was authorized VSI payments of $5,782.00 per year for 26 years.  He was transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) in accordance with his USAR enlistment contract and had a service obligation until 29 September 2018 in order to receive all of his VSI payments.  The applicant separated in Europe and has applied to the Board from a European address.

6.  On 6 July 1998 authorization was granted to allow the applicant to enter into a new USAR contract for a period of 26 years which was antedated to 17 January 1996.

7.  To assist in the drawdown of the Army, the VSIP was established to provide incentives to soldiers to voluntarily separate from active duty and accept an appointment or enlistment in, or transfer to, the Ready Reserve or a reserve component.  Both separation incentive options, the VSI and the SSB, were offered jointly.  Service members who were approved for the VSIP had the option of receiving either the VSI or the SSB.

8. Those who chose the SSB received a lump sum payment equal to 15 percent of his/her annual basic pay multiplied by his/her number of years of active military service.  In return, they had to agree to serve in the Ready Reserve for a period of not less than 3 years after completion of any remaining service obligation.  (Note: If involuntary separation pay was received, an offset of the SSB payment had to be made.)
 
9.  Those choosing the VSI were to receive an annual payment equal to 2.5 percent of his/her annual basic pay, multiplied by the number of years of active Federal service.  The member had to agree to serve in the Ready Reserve for the entire period that he/she received annual payments.  (NOTE: If involuntary separation pay was received, an offset had to be made against future payments until the amount received was recouped.)

10.  Army Regulation 601-280 dated 31 March 1999 serves as the authority for indefinite reenlistments. It states, in pertinent part, that Regular Army soldiers serving in the pay grades of E-6 through E-9 who have at least 10 years of active Federal service and who are eligible for reenlistment at the time of discharge, will be required to reenlist for an unspecified period of time. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  At the time of the applicant’s discharge in 1992 indefinite reenlistments were not authorized.  Furthermore, the program requires that members be Regular Army soldiers serving in the pay grades of E-6 through E-9, both requirements of which the applicant does not meet.  Accordingly, there is no basis to grant such a request.

2.  It must be presumed that the applicant has experienced difficulty in receiving his VSI payments due to irregularities in his reenlistment contracts which accounts for why his contract was antedated to 1996.  However, it also appears that he was erroneously approved for a 26-year reenlistment in the USAR when the maximum reenlistment should have been for 6 years.  Therefore, to ensure that the applicant receives his annual VSI payments, his contract should be amended to reflect that he reenlisted for a 6 year period.

3.  While the Board understands that reenlisting every 6 years may prove to be an inconvenience for him, one of the conditions of receiving VSIP payments was that he remain affiliated with the USAR for the entire period in which he was to receive payments.  To grant the applicant an indefinite reenlistment period would be contrary to Departmental regulations and would afford him a benefit that is not afforded others in similar circumstances.  Likewise, it is also his responsibility to remain eligible for reenlistment in order to ensure he remains qualified to receive his VSI payments and to keep Department officials apprised of his current address. 

4.  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 reenlisted on 17 January 1996 for a period of 6 years with entitlement to receive his annual VSI payments for the period of his enlistment.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

___eb___  __hof ___  __aao___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Elizabeth Buchanon___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998013630	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	1999/11/04	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  225 	112.0300/TERM OF ENLISTMENT	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.