PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            22 April 1999                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999015604

	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:

	Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright		Chairperson	
	Ms. Elizabeth Buchanon		Member	
	Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		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 that his record be corrected to show that he signed his ROTC scholarship cadet contract and enlistment document on 31 July 1980 rather than 8 September 1980. 

3.  The applicant states that he was awarded a three year ROTC scholarship from Rider College on 31 July 1980, received the news on that date from the Professor of Military Science (PMS), but did not sign the contract and enlistment document until 8 September 1980, during the first week of the school year.

4.  The applicant states that on 8 September 1980 Public Law 96-342 was enacted, providing a new formula for calculation of retired pay, less favorable to those individuals who became a member of a uniformed service on and after that date in comparison to those who became a member prior to that date.  Changing the date he signed the contracts would not affect his service creditable for retirement, but would change the retirement formula used to calculate his retired pay.  He states that it was an oversight by the ROTC cadre that caused this situation, and no fault of his own.  In this, he is supported by his former PMS and assistant PMS.   

5.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Army Reserve for 6 years as a cadet on 8 September 1980 (DD Form 4 series), and that he accepted a 3 year ROTC scholarship on that same date (DA Form 597-3).  A certificate shows that he was awarded an Army ROTC scholarship on               31 July 1980.  An DCSPER information paper provided by the applicant shows the three different formulas used to calculate a soldier’s retired pay, based on the date a soldier first became a member of the uniformed service,    

6.  In the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from Total Army Personnel Command Retirements Section.  The agency stated that the applicant had inadvertently been done an injustice, which if not corrected, would cost him and his family thousands of dollars in lost retirement pension payments, and recommended, in effect, that documents be corrected to show that he initially entered military service on 7 September 1980 instead of 8 September 1980.   
The applicant was furnished a copy of this advisory opinion on 23 May 1999.  He verbally acknowledged receipt of this opinion in mid April, stating that although he believes the date that he signed his contract should be 31 July 1980, he had no strong objection to the date proffered in that opinion.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Based on the evidence provided, this Board agrees with the applicant and the information provided in the PERSCOM advisory opinion.  The applicant was inadvertently done an injustice.  

2.  Notwithstanding the advisory opinion, the applicant’s records should be corrected to show that he enlisted in the Army Reserve as a cadet for six years on 31 July 1980 and that he accepted a three year ROTC scholarship cadet contract on that same date.  

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the applicant enlisted in the Army Reserve on 31 July 1980 for   6 years as a cadet, and that he accepted and signed a ROTC scholarship cadet contract on that same date. 

BOARD VOTE:  

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____inw_  ____eb___  ___tap__  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999015604	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990422	
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. 112.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.