PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           21 November 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000045628

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		Member	
	Mr. Thomas E. O’Shaughnessy, Jr.		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 his Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD Form 214, item 12e be corrected to show he had 3 years, 2 months and 27 days of prior inactive service.  He also requests that his Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) records be changed to show his service entry date as 21 September 1978 instead of 19 December 1981.

3.  The applicant states that changing his DFAS records to show his service entry date as 21 September 1978 will qualify him for the “old” retirement system computed as a percentage of basic pay rate versus “average high 36 months” of base pay.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 4 September 1978 he enrolled in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Financial Assistance Program as an ROTC Scholarship Cadet.  On 21 September 1978, he enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve, Control Group (ROTC).  He was discharged from ROTC effective 18 December 1981 and entered active duty as a commissioned officer on 19 December 1981.

5.  On 20 June 2000, the applicant was retired by reason of a permanent disability.  His DD Form 214, item 12e, shows that he completed zero prior inactive service.

6.  The Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation (DODFMR), volume 7A, paragraph 010104 states that service as a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is creditable service for pay provided the member has concurrent reserve status for duty performed on or after 1 August 1979 (the Simultaneous Membership Program).

7.  The DODFMR, volume 7A, paragraph 030401A states that Public Law 96-342 revised the method for computing retired pay for a member who enters a Uniformed Service after 7 September 1980.  Previously, retired or retainer pay was computed as a percentage of basic pay rate.  The new law provided for the computation of retired pay as a percentage of a member’s retired pay base.  The retired pay base is the average of the monthly basic pay rates a member receives or is entitled to for a period of 36 months, whether or not consecutive.  This is commonly referred to as “high 36 months” or “high 3 average.”  Paragraph 030401B states that a member is considered to have first entered a Uniformed Service when he or she, on or after 8 September 1980, is first appointed or enlisted in the Uniformed Services.  A member who first enlists before                 8 September 1980 under the delayed entry program, in a Reserve component as part of the Senior ROTC or ROTC Financial Assistance programs, as a student at a Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, or as a participant in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program is considered to have first become a member before 8 September 1980.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record to show that the applicant was in the Simultaneous Membership Program while he was in ROTC; therefore, his time in ROTC was not creditable for pay.  The entry in item 12e of the DD Form 214 is only meant to show inactive service that is creditable for pay purposes and is used to compute a member’s pay entry basic date (PEBD).

2.  However, the applicant meets the eligibility requirements outlined in the DODFMR, paragraph 030401 to have his time in ROTC from 21 September 1978 through 18 December 1981 counted towards computing his gross retired pay under the “old” percentage of basic pay rate system.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That DFAS correct the applicant’s service entry date to show he entered a Uniformed Service on 21 September 1978.

2.  That the applicant be paid the difference in retired pay retroactive to 21 June 2000 as a result of the above correction.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__tap___  __rwa___  __toe___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Thomas A. Pagan
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000045628	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20001121	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.14	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.