PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            15 August 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000037890

	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. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas D. Howard, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Ms. Gail J. Wire		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 advanced to the rank and pay grade of Sergeant/E-5 (SGT/E-5) on the Retired List.  

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that the highest grade in which he served satisfactorily was SGT/E-5 and that he was honorably discharged in that grade on 18 January 1954.  He also comments that he submitted a request to the Army Grade Determination Review Board (AGDRB) in 1984 requesting that he be advanced to SGT/E-5 on the Retired List but this request was denied.  He claims that at the time they reviewed his case, the AGDRB was not aware that he had completed honorable combat service during the Korean War and that he was discharged from that particular period of service in the rank and pay grade of SGT/E-5.  He also indicates that he failed to provide the AGDRB a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation From the Armed Forces of the United States) from that period of service which would have verified the character of this service.   

4.  The applicant’s military records include a War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 24A (Service Record) that documented his active military service from 1 February 1950 through 8 January 1954.  This document also verifies that during this period of service the applicant served in combat in Korea and that he earned the National Defense Service Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; the Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars; the United Nations Service Medal; and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  

5.  The WD AGO Form 24A also shows that the applicant attained the rank and pay grade of SGT/E-5 on 27 January 1953 and that he satisfactorily served in that rank until he was honorably discharged on 8 January 1954.  In addition, this document verifies that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal for this period of honorable service from 1 February 1950 to 8 January 1954. 

6.  The applicant had two subsequent periods of active duty service:  the first from 8 July 1955 to 24 June 1958 from which he was separated honorably in the rank and pay grade of Private First Class/E-3; and the second from 2 December 1960 until 28 February 1974, at which time he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) by reason of length of service retirement.  At the time of his retirement the applicant held the rank and pay grade of SP4/E-4 and had completed a total of 20 years, 6 months, and 26 days of active military service.

7.  On 25 June 1984, the AGDRB found, based on the applicant’s total disciplinary record, that he had not satisfactorily served in the rank and pay grade of SGT/E-5 and therefore, they denied his request for advancement on the Retired List to that rank and pay grade.  However, the AGDRB case report issued at that time indicates that the AGDRB was unaware that he had actually held, served in, and had been honorably discharged from his first period of service, between 1950 and 1954, in the rank and pay of SGT/E-5.
8. Title 10 of the United Sates Code, section 3964 provides the legal authority for the advancement of enlisted members on the Retired List after 30 years of service.  It states, in pertinent part, that each enlisted retired member of the Army who is retired with less than 30 years of active service is entitled, when his active service plus his service on the retired list totals 30 years, to be advanced on the retired list to the highest grade in which he served on active duty satisfactorily.

9.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 12 sets policies and procedures for voluntary retirement of soldiers because of length of service.  Paragraph 12-3b states, in pertinent part, that retirement will be in the regular or reserve grade the soldier holds on the date of retirement as directed in Title 10 of the United States Code, section 3961 (10 USC 3961).

10.  Paragraph 12-6 (Advancement on the Retired List) contains regulatory guidance on the advancement of soldiers on the Retired List.  It indicates that advancement on the Retired List is limited to retired soldiers who held a higher grade and successfully served in that higher grade while on active duty. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding the 1984 denial by the AGDRB, after carefully examining the evidence of record and the independent evidence submitted by the applicant, the Board finds that relief is warranted in this case.  

2.  While the Board does not take issue with the original decision of the AGDRB, which denied the applicant’s request for advancement on the Retired List based on his extensive disciplinary history, it does appear that this decision was rendered without all the applicant’s service records being available to the AGDRB for review.  Therefore, the Board concludes there is a sufficient basis to grant the requested relief at this time. 

3.  The evidence of record clearly shows that the applicant was honorably discharged on 8 January 1954, in the rank and pay grade of SGT/E-5, after having completed 3 years, 11 months, and 8 days of active military service.  In addition, the separation document, issued to the applicant at the time, verifies that he was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal for this period of honorable service and that he had earned the CIB for his combat service in Korea during that particular enlistment.  

4.  In the opinion of the Board, notwithstanding the extensive disciplinary history he established later in his career, the applicant’s service during the Korean War, between 1 February 1950 to 8 January 1954, more than meets the satisfactory service criteria of the law necessary for advancement on the Retired List.  Accordingly, in the interest of justice and equity, the Board finds that it would be appropriate to advance the applicant to the rank and pay grade of SGT/E-5 on the Retired List at this time.

5.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the applicant was advanced on the Retired List to the rank and pay grade of SGT/E-5 effective the date his active duty service and time on the Retired List equaled 30 years.  

2.  That the applicant be provided all back pay and allowances due as a result of this relief granted in the preceding paragraph.  

BOARD VOTE:  

___gw___  __tdh ___  __ao____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Thomas D. Howard, Jr.___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037890	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/08/15	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1974/02/28	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200 C12	
DISCHARGE REASON	Retirement	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  319	131.0900	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.