PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:  27 June 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999028792

	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	
	Mr. Paul A. Petty .		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		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, that he be placed in an early retirement status and be provided retirement pay and benefits.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his reserve unit did not properly credit his retirement point account with all the retirement points that he earned over a 
13 year period of service and that retirement points for his active duty service were not properly accounted.  He applied for early retirement and transfer to the Retired Reserve based on the his commander’s letter telling him that he was eligible for early retirement.  He has applied for his retirement pay but has not been able to obtain it.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was commissioned as a reserve medical officer on 3 October 1956.  He was called on active duty and served two full years from 17 February 1957 to 16 February 1959.  However, he was credited on his retirement point account for only 1 year qualifying for retirement instead of the 2 years he earned.  He was discharged at the end of these two years of service as a Captain.

5.  On 10 November 1982, he was again commissioned as a reserve medical officer in the rank of Major and assigned to the USAR Troop Program Unit (TPU), 6253rd Army Hospital, Hamilton Field, California.  He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 9 November 1985.  He remained active in the 6253rd until it was downsized on 1 October 1995 and his position eliminated.  He was notified by a 20 September 1995 letter from the 6253rd Commander, that he had been identified as being eligible for the Selective Reserve Transition Benefit Program (Early Retirement) with between 15 and 20 years qualifying for retirement.  He was provided with a pre-printed personnel action form giving him options to include: request reassignment to another TPU; involuntary transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR); or apply for early retirement and transfer to the Retired Reserve.  Based on the letter from his commander telling him that he was qualified for early retirement, the applicant checked the option requesting early retirement and transfer to the Retired Reserve.  He made this request on 
16 October 1995.  On 10 September 1998, the 63rd Regional Support Command issued orders with an effective date of 16 October 1996 transferring the applicant from the 6253rd to the Retired Reserve by reason of unit inactivation (Early Retirement: 15-20 years). These orders were issued three years after the applicant requested early retirement and transfer to the Retired Reserve.  Based on the letter from his unit commander and his completion of the request for retirement and transfer to the Retired Reserve, the 6253rd discontinued his participation with the unit on 15 October 1995 according to the Officer Evaluation Report (OERs) he received at that time due to reassignment.

6.  According to his Retirement Point Statement issued on 2 February 1999, the applicant was credited with only 9 out of 13 years as qualified for retirement during his service in the 6253rd.  However, according the Inactive Duty for Training (IDT) and Annual Training (AT) recorded on his OERs, he should be credited with 10 years qualifying for retirement for this period of service and additional IDT retirement points.  With his 2 full years active duty, his total number of years qualified for retirement should be 12 years as of 15 October 1995.

7.  The applicant having been led to believe by his former command that he was eligible for retired pay, applied for retired pay benefits in late 1997.  A 7 January 1998 letter from the Retirement Services office of the US Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERSCOM) acknowledged receipt of the applicant’s request and stated that it would take 150 days to process his application.  
On 26 June 1998, he received a letter from the Transition and Separation Branch of ARPERSCOM stating that they could not locate his military records and that based on his retirement point account, he only had 10 years of qualifying service for retirement and was not eligible for retired pay.  They provided him a copy of his retirement point statement.  The applicant found the retirement point account to be deficient and supplied additional documentation that he had.  However, he did not have in his possession documentation to fill all the voids.  He was provided an updated statement of retirement points dated 2 February 1999 that is still deficient.  He has now applied to this Board for relief.

8.  The applicant’s birth date is 11 April 1929.  On 15 October 1995, he was 
66 years of age and less than the medical officer mandatory retirement age of 
68 years.  He is currently 70 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record, including a DD Form 214 and OERs, show that the applicant’s retirement point account does not properly credit him with 2 years of active duty and did not properly credit him for one year of qualifying USAR service.  After making these known corrections, he would then have 12 of the necessary 15 years qualifying for early retirement.

2.  The applicant was led to believe by a 20 September 1995 letter from his unit commander that he was qualified for early retirement.  Based on that letter and its attached preprinted personnel action form, the applicant, in good faith, requested early retirement and transfer to the Retired Reserve when his position in the unit was eliminated and the unit was downsized.  His unit terminated his 

participation in the 6253rd on 15 October 1995 as evidenced by his OER.  It is obvious that the unit also believed that the applicant was retired and transferred to the Retired Reserve.  However, the orders for transfer of the applicant from the 6253rd to the Retired Reserve were not issued by the unit’s higher headquarters until 10 September 1998.  This misinformation and delay in processing denied the applicant time and opportunity to continue to earn the retirement points necessary to qualify fully for retired pay at age 60.  At his present age, he exceeds age limits for reassignment to a TPU to earn the remaining 3 years required for retirement.

3.  As a matter of fairness and equity, and in recognition of the applicant’s faithful and dedicated service, the applicant’s retirement points should be correct and redistributed to provide him with 15 years qualifying for early retirement and he should be provided the associated retired pay and benefits effective 16 October 1995, the day following the date according to his OER that his unit terminated his participation in the TPU program.

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:

	a.  showing that he was transferred from the 6253rd USA Hospital to the Retired Reserve by reason of unit inactivation (early retirement: 15-20 years) effective 16 October 1995;

	b.  correcting this retirement point account to show 2 years qualifying for retirement points for his active duty from 17 February 1957 to 16 February 1959;

	c.  correcting retirement year 1988/11/10 to 1989/10/09 to show 38 IDT points, 53 total points for the year, and 1 year qualified for retirement;

	d.  correcting retirement year 1989/11/10 to 1990/10/09 to show 44 IDT points and 73 total points for the year; 

e.  correcting retirement year 1987/11/10 to 1988/10/09 to show 32 IDT points and 47 total points for the year;

f.  redistributing 3 points from the corrected retirement year 1988/11/10 to 1989/10/09 to the retirement year 1987/11/10 to 1988/10/09 to increase that year’s total points from 47 to 50 and make that 1 year qualified for retirement;

g.  correcting retirement year 1985/11/10 to 1986/10/09 to show 32 IDT points and 56 total points for the year;

h.  redistributing 1 point from the corrected retirement year 1985/11/10 to 1986/10/09 to the retirement year 1984/11/10 to 1985/10/09 to increase that year’s total points from 49 to 50 and make that 1 year qualified for retirement;

i.  redistributing 31 points from the retirement year 1990/11/10 to 1991/10/09 to the retirement year 1983/11/10 to 1984/10/09 to increase that year’s total points from 19 to 50 and make that 1 year qualified for retirement;

j.  correcting his ARPC Form 249-2-E, Chronological Statement of Retirement Points, to show 15 years qualifying for retirement with the commensurate corrected total points creditable;

k.  issuing him 15 year early retirement benefits and pay effective 
16 October 1995; 

l.  insuring that he is provided an SBP election form and that he is counseled on his SBP options; and

m.  that these corrections and adjustments of retirement points result in no additional pay and allowances for inactive duty for training, active duty for training, or active duty, since he has already received pay for such.

BOARD VOTE:  

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__MM___  ___CG___  __WM____  DENY APPLICATION

		___Mark D. Manning___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999028792	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000227	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.128.00	Pay and Allowances	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.