PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           30 August 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC2000050468

	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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		Member	
	Ms. Linda D. Simmons                           		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 reconsideration of her previous application to correct her record by restoring her conditional promotion to sergeant first class (SFC) and by returning her to the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC). 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that she has always had to study hard to achieve any academic success.  She reports that she studied hard at the ANCOC and got a lot of help from the staff and her fellow students.  She did not fail for want of effort.  She was depressed because she could not pass the tests despite all her efforts.  She admits that she has achieved a great deal, but points out that it was achieved by hard work over a long period of time.  She notes, for example, that she earned an associate degree, but points out that it took a long time and that she received a significant number of credits for her Army experience.  Her command supports her request. Her doctors have confirmed the she suffers from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) and dysthymia [chronic low-grade depression] and have recommended that she be given another chance at the ANCOC. She submits several letters of support and numerous documents from her educational records to substantiate her request. 

4.  The Memorandum of Consideration of the Board’s 1 August 2000 review of her request (AR1999031067) is incorporated herein by reference as if wholly set forth.

5.  The applicant’s submissions are new evidence that requires Board consideration.

6.  The senior personnel noncommissioned officer, a sergeant major, at Fort Irwin, California, the applicant’s current duty assignment, strongly endorses her request. 

7.  An 18 September 2000 letter from the Chief of Mental Health at Fort Belvoir, Virginia reviewed the Board’s previous decision and commented “In fact, this entire course is very consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD.  A closer inquiry and inspection reveal that SSG (the applicant) needed an additional four months of study to raise her GT score up to 116she received an Associates DegreeThis achievement required twenty years.”  The doctor thinks that her accomplishment in failing the tests “by only one or two points” was impressive considering that she was receiving no treatment whatsoever for either ADHD or depression.  He strongly supports her efforts to return to the ANCOC.

8.  The Chief of Mental Health at Fort Irwin finds that the applicant’s depression has remitted, believes that she will be able to succeed at the ANCOC and agrees that she should be given another chance.

9.  The applicant submits numerous documents reflecting the remedial education she undertook to raise her GT score and to show that her pursuit of an associate degree started in 1979 and was completed in 1997.

10.  An ANCOC classmate writes that she and others helped the applicant study.  “I do not think that there was a soldier in the entire class that did not have (SSG (the applicant) in a one on one study session at one time or another during ANCOC.  She just seemed so intelligent and we could not comprehend why this peer of ours was having such a hardThis was a situation I feel we did not understand.As the pressure seemed to build for her, she continued to study continuously while we continued to tutor her, but to no avail.”  The classmate supports the applicant’s return to ANCOC and writes ”It would make all of us feel that we really did help all that we could, but that there indeed had been an underlying problem we were not aware of.”

11.  The applicant also submits the records of the reinstatement panel that considered her initial appeal.  One of the vote sheets from that April 1999 panel include the notation “This does not sound like an individual with ADD”  Another wrote “soldier missed test by a few points, she could have studied a little more.”  The third commented “Aptitude extremely high for ADD disorder.”

12.  During the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from the Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM).  The NCO Education System (NCOES) branch recommended that the Board approve her request to return to ANCOC, but that her promotion be held in abeyance until she completes ANCOC.

13.  The applicant concurred with the NCOES advisory recommendation.  However she contends, since her earlier non-completion of ANCOC was due to a medical problem, that it would be illogical and unfair to not provide retroactive promotion and pay once she completes the course.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The letter of support from the classmate substantiates the applicant’s contention that her failure at the ANCOC was not due to lack of effort.  It was a case of “could not” rather than “would not”.  Additionally, her continued successful response to medication for the ADHD and the remission of her depression prompted her doctors to conclude that her earlier failure was beyond her control but that she will now be able to complete the course without difficulty. 

2.  The additional medical evidence supporting the applicant’s request coupled with evidence that she indeed could not have tried any harder indicates that the 

applicant should be given another opportunity to complete the ANCOC and that she should be retroactively promoted to SFC, with back pay when she completes the course.

3.  The foregoing is in consonance with the PERSCOM opinion. 

4.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting  the applicant’s records as recommended below would rectify an injustice.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by returning the individual concerned the ANCOC at the earliest reasonable opportunity, and upon successful completion of the course, by promoting her to the rank of SFC with an effective date and date of rank of 1 November 1998 to include any pay and allowances that may be due. 

BOARD VOTE:

__RVO__  ___CJP__  __LDS__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr,_
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000050468	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010830	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	MODIFY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.