2.  The applicant requests that his discharge orders be revoked and he be transferred to the Retired Reserve.  He makes no statement.

3.  The applicant was born on 28 January 1944.  He initially enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 11 June 1961, served in the Regular Army until his return to the Army Reserve on 20 March 1973.  He served in the Army Reserve until he was discharged effective 3 January 1995.  

4.  A copy of his 20-year letter, stating he met the requirement for Reserve retirement at age 60, is not available.  It appears that as of 1990 he had            26 qualifying years for retirement.

5.  Army Regulation 135-180 implements statutory authorities governing the granting of “retired pay” to soldiers and former Reserve components soldiers.

6.  Sections 1331 through 1337 of Title 10, U.S. Code, authorize retired pay for Reserve component military service.  Under this law, a Reserve soldier must complete a minimum of 20 qualifying years of service to be eligible for retired pay at age 60.  The term “good years” is an unofficial term used to mean years in which 50 or more retirement points are earned during each year and which count as qualifying years of service for retirement benefits at age 60.

7.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Army Reserve Personnel Command, Transition and Separations Branch.  That office noted that on 25 February 1994 the applicant was notified of his           non-participation in the U.S. Army Reserve (failure to earn 50 points each retirement year after receiving notification of completion of 20 or more qualifying years of service for retirement).  No reply was received, so on 4 January 1995 discharge orders were issued.  Although that command recommends that soldiers transfer to the Retired Reserve to ensure receipt of all benefits available to them, it does not have the authority to revoke discharge orders properly issued by the appropriate separation authority.  Because the notification was sent to the still current address and the discharge orders were issued properly, that office recommends that the orders are valid and should not be revoked.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant actively participated in his Army Reserve assignments up until 1990, when he completed over 26 years of qualifying service for retired pay.

2.  The applicant failed to earn 50 or more retirement points a year beginning in 1990 and he was sent a non-participation letter.  He apparently failed to reply to the letter.

3.  Based on that lack of reply, the applicant was discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve.  

4.  It being common knowledge that the mail service is sometimes unreliable, the applicant may have responded to the Army Reserve Personnel Center’s        non-participation letter only to be lost in the mail.  The Center could have sent out a second letter or attempted to telephonically contact the applicant prior to discharging him.  Apparently, it did not do so.

5.  In view of the foregoing and despite the recommendation of the advisory opinion, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:  

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:
     a.  by revoking orders D-01-501345 discharging the applicant from the U.S. Army Reserve; and
     b.  by publishing orders assigning the applicant to the U.S. Army Reserve (Retired) effective 3 January 1995.
     
2.  The Army has an established program to counsel retiring soldiers on the rights, benefits, and privileges afforded as a result of military retirement.  Retirement Services Officers (RSO) are available at most major Army installations to provide a retirement briefing, which includes information on the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP).  The applicant is advised to contact his nearest RSO (list enclosed ) as soon as possible to facilitate a smooth transition to retired status.

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION

                                                                                                                
					              CHAIRPERSON