PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            20 April 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000039061

	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.  

	Ms. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger Able		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, in effect, retroactive enrollment in and compensation from the Ready Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Program (RRMIIP).  He requests that the date of his RRMIIP Certificate (DD Form 2746) be changed to reflect a date that is within 60 days of his release from active duty and that he be paid $40,000.00 of insurance benefits for his mobilization and deployment in support of Operations Joint Endeavor/Guard.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was not briefed regarding the RRMIIP until 12 July 1997 and he was denied enrollment in the RRMIIP because he was not timely briefed.  In support of his application he submits his RRMIIP enrollment packet dated 13 July 1997, a copy of the 805th Military Police Company Unit Training Schedule for the month of December 1996, a copy of a memorandum from the RRMIIP Program Manager dated 9 September 1998 addressed to the applicant returning his RRMIIP enrollment packet and a copy of a memorandum dated 1 August 1998 from the former commander of the 805th Military Police Company attesting to the fact that the applicant was not properly briefed regarding the RRMIIP until 12 July 1997.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that in May 1996 he enlisted in the USAR and he was assigned to the 787th Military Police Battalion Training Detachment.  He was ordered to active duty for basic training and advanced individual training on 6 August 1996.  Upon completion of his active duty training, on 6 December 1996 he was transferred to the 805th Military Police Company in Raleigh, North Carolina.

5.  On 13 July 1997, the applicant submitted a DD Form 2746 requesting enrollment in the RRMIIP under the $5,000 option.

6.  Orders were published ordering him to active duty effective 19 August 1997 for a period not to exceed 270 days.  On 17 April 1998 the applicant was released from active duty upon completion of his required service.

7.  Although not a part of the available records, on 18 May 1998 the Army Reserve Personnel Command (ARPERSCOM) Program Manager returned his application without action indicating that he had missed the initial enrollment period of 1 October 1996 through 31 December 1996.  The ARPERSCOM informed him that if he wished to submit an appeal to submit a Memorandum for Record through his commander at the time of the open enrollment period stating why he was not briefed.

8.  On 24 June 1998, the applicant submitted his appeal packet to ARPERSCOM along with the documentation that he was informed that he needed in order to complete his packet.  He also included a memorandum from the former commander of the 805th Military Police Company.  Although the commander’s memorandum indicates that the applicant was not present during the 14 December 1996 drill, the commander’s memorandum clearly states that the unit was not properly briefed regarding the RRMIIP until 12 July 1997, 1 day prior to the date of his application.

9.  On 9 September 1998, the applicant’s appeal packet was returned to him by the RRMIIP program manager stating that the applicant was released from active duty for training on 6 December 1996 and that the unit commander had 60 days from release to notify and enroll the soldiers.  The ARPERSCOM further stated that according to the unit commander’s memorandum, the applicant was not present for the 14 December 1996 drill and the applicant states that he was present.  The RRMIIP program manager’s memorandum indicated that the decision was final and that any further documentation would be returned without action as the Department of Defense established 30 June 1998 as the cutoff for the appeal program.

10.  The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, dated 10 February 1996, authorized the RRMIIP with an initial start date of 1 October 1996.  The RRMIIP was designed to provide income insurance for most Reserve Component members who were involuntarily ordered to active duty in support of military operations for over 30 days.  The initial enrollment period for active members of the Reserve Components (USAR and National Guard) was 1 October 1996 through 31 December 1996.  Personnel who failed to enroll with 60 days after being briefed were considered to have declined.  Personnel on active duty were not eligible  to apply for enrollment in the RRMIIP.  Personnel who enlisted in a Troop Program Unit after the initial enrollment period were required to be briefed on the program within 60 days of arrival in the unit and had 60 days after being briefed to enroll or decline.  Personnel on active duty were not eligible to apply for enrollment in the RRMIIP.

11.  The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998, effective 18 November 1997, terminated the RRMIIP coverage for those not ordered to involuntary active duty as of that date and prohibited new enrollments.  Consequently, the USAR and the Army National Guard extended administrative appeal/errors process to offer Reserve Component soldiers who believed that they were wrongfully denied enrollment an opportunity to appeal.  All appeals had to be received in complete form as of 30 June 1998.

12.  The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense memorandum dated 14 November 1996, provided clarifying guidance regarding eligibility of Reserve members who were insured under the RRMIIP.  It states that during the period in which eligible members of the Reserve components who were members prior to the establishment of the RRMIIP are being offered an opportunity to enroll for coverage, such members being called to active for a period of covered service prior to having had the opportunity to enroll or decline to be insured under the RRMIIP, will have the option to elect coverage not to exceed the $1,000.00 basic amount.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The issue in this case is whether or not the applicant was properly briefed on the RRMIIP and was it accomplished within the prescribed timeframe.  The Board is convinced that the applicant was properly briefed on the RRMIIP.

2.  He was on active duty during the initial enrollment period of 1 October 1996.  However, he was released from active duty on 6 December 1996 and it was the responsibility of the unit commander to ensure that he was properly briefed.  The question of whether or not the he attended the training drill on 14 December 1996 is irrelevant as the commander submitted a memorandum requesting that he be allowed the opportunity to enroll in the RRMIIP as the unit was not properly briefed regarding the RRMIIP until 12 July 1997.

3.  Therefore, the Board accepts the applicant’s contention that he was not briefed on the program and was unjustly denied a benefit that he otherwise would have been able to receive had he been properly and timely briefed.  Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to enroll him in the RRMIIP under the $5,000 effective 13 July 1997, the date that he submitted his application and, through no fault of his own, was denied.

4.  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 individual concerned was enrolled in the RRMIIP effect 13 July 1997 under the $5,000 option.

2.  That the individual concerned be afforded the opportunity to submit a DFAS-CL From 1241/3 (RRMIIP Claim for Mobilization Insurance Benefits) and supporting documents for retroactive payment of RRMIIP benefits, minus any premiums he would have paid had he been properly enrolled on 12 July 1997.

3.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied 

BOARD VOTE:  

__wtm __  ___ra___  __mvt____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Walter T. Morrison____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000039061	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/04/20	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  13	101.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.