MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            29 July 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999026592

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration 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:

	Mr. Charles H. Loundermon		Chairperson	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
            records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That his records be corrected to show that he entered active duty from Tucson, Arizona.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was part of an early commissioning program at the University of Arizona Army ROTC program and that he graduated in December 1987.  He goes on to state that he traveled directly from Tucson, Arizona to his first duty station at Fort Rucker, Alabama and that he received advance pay at Davis Monthan, Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona prior to departure.  He further states that he believes that the ROTC Department routinely put individual’s home of record (HOR) on all orders indicating entry on to active duty.  He also states that after 12 years of active service he is resigning and is authorized to move at government expense to his HOR or the place he entered active duty.  He continues by stating that he desires to return to the vicinity of Tucson where he entered active duty and desires to have his records changed accordingly.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his initial orders and a copy of his diploma indicating his graduation on 19 December 1987. 

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

The applicant was commissioned as a USAR second lieutenant on 16 May 1987 prior to graduation from ROTC at the University of Arizona with a concurrent call to active duty.  He graduated on 19 December 1987.

The applicant’s initial orders show that his address at the time of his entry on active duty was the same address as his HOR (Bigfork, Montana).  The applicant’s orders directed him to report to Fort Rucker, Alabama no earlier than 11 January 1988.  The applicant’s records show that he reported to Fort Rucker on 5 January 1988 and to the Aviation Officer Basic Course at Fort Rucker on 11 January 1988.

The applicant remained on active duty and was promoted to the rank of major on 1 January 1999.  He received an officer evaluation report (OER) while assigned to the 4th ROTC Region at Spokane, Washington with an ending date of 15 May 1999.  The OER indicates that he was being released from active duty at his own request.

The Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) provides, in effect, that the HOR or place of entry on active duty is the place recorded as the home of the individual at the time of enlistment or induction or the place the person actually entered active duty initially.  There is no authority to change a HOR or place of entry on active duty as officially recorded at time of entry onto the military service.  However, there is authority to correct a HOR or place of entry on active duty if erroneously entered on the records at that time, and then only for travel and transportation purposes.  Correction of the HOR must be based on evidence that a bona fide error was made and the HOR or place of entry on active duty as corrected must have been the actual home of the individual at the time of entry or place of entry during the relevant period of service.  It may not be a place selected for the convenience of the soldier or based strictly on monetary gain.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  While the applicant has provided a copy of his initial orders which show he entered active duty in Bigfork, Montana, he has failed to provide sufficient evidence to convince the Board that he entered active duty in Tucson, Arizona or that he did not receive travel pay from Montana based on his initial orders. 

3.  The applicable regulation provides that the place of entry on active duty is only changed when it can be established that it was entered in error at the time of entry on active duty. This is done because a change of the HOR or place of entry on active duty affects an individual’s travel entitlements at the time of separation. It is not authorized as a means to provide individuals a monetary incentive. 

4.  The Board notes that the passage of time makes it difficult to determine if the applicant actually departed to his initial duty station (Fort Rucker) from Arizona or from Montana, as depicted from his records.  Therefore, given the passage of time (12 years), the fact that the Board cannot determine with any degree of certainty that he did in fact enter active duty from Arizona, and because there is no evidence that he surfaced the issue previously, it must be presumed that the applicant decided to request such a change for the purpose of monetary gain. 

5.  Although the applicant would be entitled to request such a change and receive the monetary entitlement attached to the change if sufficient evidence was presented to show that an error had occurred; such does not appear to be apparent in his case.

6.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__slp____  __chl ___  ___clg___  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999026592	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	1999/07/29	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  222 	112.0100/place of entry on ad	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.