MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           10 May 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000037363

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Mr. George D. Paxson		Member	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern, III		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:  In effect, that his records be corrected to show he was promoted to Master Sergeant (MSG), E-8.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he saw his name in the “Army Times” in March 1979 showing he was selected for promotion to MSG with a sequence number of 0591.  Prior to retiring, he had requested reassignment to Korea several times.  His request was denied each time.  Had he been given a chance for reassignment, he would have remained in the service for 30 years and would have been promoted.

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

He enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 October 1958.  He was promoted to Sergeant First Class (SFC), E-7 on 5 March 1973.  He was awarded primary military occupational specialty OOU, Race Relations and Equal Opportunity Specialist, on 26 June 1973 and was assigned to an OOU position at Fort Bragg, NC on 1 May 1974.  

The applicant applied for retirement on 3 May 1978 for an effective date of         31 October 1978.  His request was approved on 8 June 1978.

The Master Sergeant promotion selection board convened on 24 October 1978 and adjourned on 15 November 1978.  The applicant had retired on 31 October 1978.  PERSCOM confirmed on 3 May 2000 that the applicant was selected for promotion by that promotion board.

Army Regulation 600-200 at the time prescribed policies and procedures for the career management of Army enlisted personnel, to include promotions and reductions.  Paragraph 7-36 stated that one eligibility requirement to be considered for promotion to pay grades E-7, E-8 and E-9 was to be serving on active duty in an enlisted status on the estimated adjournment date of the selection board concerned.  The names of individuals who would not be on active duty as an enlisted member on that date would be removed from the zone of consideration and they would not thereafter regain eligibility under the criteria in effect for that zone.

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.  By regulation, the applicant should not have been considered by the 1978 MSG promotion selection board since his retirement date was 31 October 1978 and the adjournment date of the board was 15 November 1978.  The Board presumes either an administrative error was made or that the estimated adjournment date at the time the zones of consideration were announced was earlier than 31 October 1978.

3.  In any case, the applicant should have had some idea of what the zones of consideration for promotion would be, and that he would be within the zones, based upon the zones considered by the previous year’s promotion board.  He could have timed his retirement request to take this into account but it was his decision to apply for retirement with his chosen effective date of 31 October 1978.  His contention that had he been reassigned to Korea when he requested it he would have remained in the service for 30 years is purely speculative.  The Board concludes such speculation is insufficient to warrant granting the relief requested.

4.  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

__mkp___  __gdp___  __tbr___  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037363	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000510	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	131.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.