PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            20 June 2000      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999025966

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, 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, reconsideration of his May 1996 application in which he requested retirement in Seoul, Korea.  The applicant notes that his separation orders were amended to reflect that his “requested” place of retirement was Seoul, Korea but his DD Form 214 was never corrected.  He notes that the oversight has created problems associated with his civilian employment entitlements in Korea.

3.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records that were summarized in a memorandum prepared to reflect the Board’s original consideration of his case on 18 March 1998 (COPY ATTACHED).  The Board originally concluded that the applicant’s separation orders, which placed his name on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL), should be corrected to reflect a “requested place of retirement” of Seoul, Korea.  That action was completed in November 1998.

4.  The applicant was reassigned from Korea to Hawaii in October 1988 for the purpose of disability processing.  The applicant indicated in his original request that he was reassigned to Hawaii “to save TDY” costs.

5.  On 13 January 1989 orders were issued at Tripler Army Medical Center reassigning the applicant from the Medical Holding Company at Tripler to his home address in Seoul, Korea as a “permanent change of station home” action.  The Transition Point at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, accomplished actions associated with his 15 February 1989 separation from active duty and issued his DD Form 214 and separation orders.  Block 8 (station where separated) on his DD Form 214 reflects Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

6.  The Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) states that a member on active duty is entitled to select a Home of Selection (HOS) when the member is retired for physical disability or placed on the TDRL.  A member may select a home any place within the United States; the home of record outside the United States, or any other place (allowances paid in this case shall not exceed those payable had the member selected a home at a CONUS location specified by the member.)  It also states that the member may travel to the HOS from the last permanent duty station via a processing station of the member’s choice.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While there is no evidence to support the applicant’s contention that he was initially reassigned to Hawaii to save TDY funds, had he remained assigned to his unit in Korea his separation from active duty would have been completed by his servicing transition office in Korea.

2.  Based on the applicant’s statement, and the fact that orders were issued reassigning him to his home address in Korea, it is clear that the applicant intended to select Seoul, Korea as his HOS in conjunction with his separation from active duty, although that terminology was never used.  His intention was validated by the Board’s 1998 action correcting his separation orders to reflect a “requested” place of retirement as Korea.

3.  The Board concludes that had the applicant been fully aware, or apprised, of the ramifications associated with separating from the Army in Hawaii he would have pursued a request to remain assigned to Korea or elected to be processed for separation in Korea as permitted by the JTR.

4.  When the Board corrected the applicant’s records to show that his “requested” place of retirement was Seoul, Korea they were, in effect, allowing him to travel to his HOS.  It would, based on the information provided by the applicant, have been reasonable to presume that he would also have elected to travel to his HOS “via a processing station of the member’s choice” had he been allowed to originally request a place of retirement.  As such when his separation order was corrected, the Board concludes it would have been in the interest of justice to also correct block 8 on his DD Form 214 to show that his station where separated was Seoul, Korea. 

5.  In view of the foregoing, and in the interest of justice, 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 issuing a DD Form 215 correcting block 8 to show his station where separated was Seoul, Korea.

BOARD VOTE:  

___vbc__  ___jea__  ___ewl__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999025966	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000620	
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.	110.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.