PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           29 September 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999018787

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		Member	
	Ms. Meta Waller		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 her discharge orders be corrected to reflect her correct rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG).

3.  The applicant states that she was promoted to SSG on 2 December 1991.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that she enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 18 February 1982.  She was promoted to SSG on                2 December 1991.

5.  The applicant’s DA Form 2-1, Personnel Qualification Record part II shows she was promoted to SSG on 2 December 1991 with no record of a reduction after that date.  Her leave and earnings statements through May 1993 show she was paid as a SSG.  There is no evidence of record to show misconduct or non-participation in drills.  Her DA Form 2A, Personnel Qualification Record dated   10 February 1994, reviewed and corrected on 14 May 1994, shows that the grade and date of rank sections were pen-and-ink corrected to show “SSG E-6 911202.”  DA Form 4651-R, Request for Reserve Component Assignment or Attachment, which requested her transfer to the Control Group (Reinforcement) due to a medical condition and was prepared at her unit, shows her grade and date of rank as “SSG E-6 911202.”

6.  Orders published by the 81st U. S. Army Reserve Command on 31 May 1994 assigning the applicant to the U. S. Army Personnel Center (Reinforcement) show her rank as Sergeant (SGT).  Orders published by the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) on 7 January 1997 discharging her from the     USAR show her rank as SGT.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board concludes a Government error occurred in this case.

2.  The applicant was promoted to SSG on 2 December 1991.  There is no evidence of misconduct or missed drills in her records.  Finance records up through May 1993 show her rank as SSG.  All manually-prepared personnel records/documents show her rank as SSG through May 1994.  Her DA Form 2A, which shows what information is in the Standard Installation/Division Personnel System (SIDPERS), was manually updated on 14 May 1994 to show her rank as SSG.

3.  The Board concludes that the SIDPERS system was not updated to show the applicant’s correct rank by the time the 81st U. S. Army Reserve Command published her transfer orders.  This would have led to that organization publishing her orders using the old rank that showed in SIDPERS.  Once she was transferred, her unit could no longer update her information, which led to her incorrect grade being carried through the years until ARPERCEN used it to publish her discharge orders.

4.  In view of the foregoing, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the applicant was a Staff Sergeant when she was transferred to the U. S. Army Control Group Reinforcement effective 16 September 1994 and a Staff Sergeant when she was discharged from the USAR on 7 January 1997.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fne___  __tap___  __mw____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Fred N. Eichorn
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999018787	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19990929	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.