PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            15 June 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000042904

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Orville W. Troesch		Chairperson	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		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 the effective date of the end of his Special Duty Assignment Pay (SDAP) be changed from 1 January 2000 to 31 January 2000.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that in his previous application to the Board he requested his SDAP to be effective 1 January 2000 based on the information he had been provided.  However, through no fault of his own, it was not started until 1 February 2000.  He further states that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) paid him from 1 January 2000 and subsequently discovered that his orders did not authorize him to be paid until 1 February 2000.  Accordingly, a collection of that debt has been initiated by the DFAS. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that the applicant previously applied to this Board under the auspices of the Whistleblower Protection Act to have his SDAP authorized for the period of 1 August 1997 to 1 January 2000 (copy enclosed).  He based the 1 January 2000 cutoff date on a memorandum published by the Adjutant General (AG) of the Wyoming Army National Guard (WYARNG) on 10 November 1999, which indicated that the applicant would be reinstated no later than 31 January 2000. 

5.  In the processing of his former case a staff member of the Board contacted the applicant’s counsel in an attempt to resolve the discrepancy between the 1 January 2000 date the applicant was requesting and the 31 January 2000 date indicated on the memorandum from the AG WYARNG.  The applicant’s counsel informed the Board that the applicant would be satisfied with a 1 January 2000 end date and that if it were a few days late he would not be concerned because he was confident that the promises made to him would be honored.  Accordingly, the Board approved the end date of 1 January 2000 as requested.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding that the applicant was afforded the opportunity to have his original application amended to reflect an ending date of 31 January 2000 and declined to do so, the Board was willing to do so at the time it considered his original application.

2.  Therefore, the Board finds that the error on his part does not constitute a basis to deny him a benefit that he otherwise would have received had he originally requested it.  Accordingly, the Board finds it appropriate to authorize him SDAP for the period 1 August 1997 to 31 January 2000.

3.  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 individual concerned was authorized to receive SDAP as a recruiter for the WYARNG for the period of 1 August 1997 to 31 January 2000.

BOARD VOTE:  

__kan___  ___mvt __  ___owt__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Orville W. Troesch, Jr.___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000042904	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/06/15	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  290	128.0700/SDAP	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.