PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:             18 July 2000                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999026893

	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. Gale J. Thomas		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. George D. Paxson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Elizabeth Buchanon		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		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 records be corrected to show she was promoted to the rank of Major, Army Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC), in the      U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 2 September 1997.  

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that she should have been promoted to Major on her promotion eligibility date of 2 September 1997; and that the reason given for suspending her promotion status, “not assigned to a higher grade position,” was invalid and did not apply to the Department of the Army Medical Personnel. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that she is a member of the Army Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC), and was recommended for promotion by the Major, Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Selection Board which was approved by the President on 22 July 1997.

5.  On 29 September 1997, she was notified that as a result of the 1 October 1996, Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA), she had been identified as not being assigned to a higher grade position, and therefore ineligible for promotion to Major.

6.  Title 10, United States Code, section 14304, states that an officer shall be considered for promotion to the next higher grade by a promotion board far enough in advance of completing the years of service in grade specified so that, if the officer is recommended for promotion, the promotion may be effective on or before the date on which the officer will complete those years of service.  The maximum years of service in grade for a captain is 7 years. 

7.  Army Regulation 135-155, provides that a USAR officer who is mandatorily considered and selected will be transferred from the unit to the IRR and promoted no later than 90 days after receipt of promotion notification or on the normal established promotion eligibility date, unless the officer fills a vacancy in the unit in a higher grade or, is retained and promoted in the unit on an overstrength basis, or is authorized retention in the unit in a lower grade as authorized by AR 140-10, Chapter 2.  

8.  Army Regulation 140-10, Chapter 2, provides that AMEDD personnel will only be assigned to higher grade positions when officers in the required grade are not available, and there are no officers in the required grade assigned against lower grade positions.  AMEDD officers (except Medical Service Corps) may be assigned to positions requiring one grade above or 2 grades below their current rank, if AOC (area of concentration) qualified.

9.  An official at the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command, Promotion and Notification Branch, Reserve Components revealed that the applicant should have been promoted on 22 July 1997, the date the President signed the        1997 Major AMEDD Promotion List.
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The requirement for an officer to be assigned to a higher grade position prior to promotion does not apply to members of the Army Medical Department , and therefore does not apply to the applicant.  

2.  ROPMA states that an officer will be considered for promotion well, in advance, so that if recommended, the promotion would occur on or before the date the officer completed the maximum years of service, which in this instance, is 7 years.  However, for unit personnel, in appropriate positions, the effective date and date of rank is established as the date the President signs the promotion list.  

3.  The applicant was in an acceptable position when recommended by the 1997 Major, AMEDD Promotion List, which was signed by the President on 22 July 1997, and therefore should have been promoted with a date of rank and effective date of 22 July 1997.  

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 was promoted to Major, USAR, with a date or rank and effective date of 22 July 1997, that her time in grade be computed from that date, and that she receive all pay and allowances from that date.

BOARD VOTE:  

__gdp___  __eb____  __mvt___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999026893	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000718	
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.  131.05		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.