PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           30 October 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001055424

	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:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Harry B. Oberg		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 he be promoted to captain with a date of rank and effective date of 1 March 2001.

3.  The applicant states that he submitted his request for waiver of the statutory educational requirements for promotion to captain on 8 August 2000, prior to the Congressional deadline of 1 October 2000.  He did not discover until 9 February 2001 that his Branch did not process his request. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that, after having had prior enlisted service, he was commissioned in the U. S. Army Reserve out of Officer Candidate School (OCS) on 17 April 1998.  (In 1999, he applied to this Board for correction of his commissioning date to 7 August 1997 due to an OCS error.  His request was approved and his date of commission was adjusted as requested and his dates of rank to second and first lieutenant were adjusted accordingly.)  He was selected for promotion to captain by the Fiscal Year 1999 Captain Army Promotion Selection Board with a promotion eligibility date to captain of 1 March 2001.

5.  On 8 August 2000, the applicant submitted a waiver of the education requirements to Engineer Assignments Branch, U. S. Total Army Personnel Command.  Engineer Branch received the request for waiver on 8 August 2000.

6.  Title 10, U. S. Code, section 12205 states that no person may be appointed to a grade above the grade of first lieutenant unless that person has been awarded a baccalaureate degree by a qualifying educational institution.  The Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 authorized the Secretary of the Army to waive, until 30 September 2000, this requirement for any officer who was commissioned through the Army OCS before 17 October 1998.  The waiver would be made on a case-by-case basis and may continue in effect for no more than 2 years after the waiver is granted.  The applicant submitted a waiver under this authority on 8 August 2000.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is evidence of Government error in this case.  The evidence shows that Engineer Branch received the applicant’s request for an education waiver almost two months prior to the suspense date and for unknown reasons the request was not processed.  The applicant’s records should be corrected to show that his request for a waiver of the statutory educational requirement was received and processed by the appropriate office on 8 August 2000, approved, and that he was promoted to captain with a date of rank and an effective date of 1 March 2001.

2.  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 applicant’s request for a waiver of the statutory educational requirement was received on 8 August 2000, processed, approved, and he was promoted to captain with a date of rank and an effective date of 1 March 2001.

BOARD VOTE:  

__cla___  __aao___  __hbo___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Celia L. Adolphi
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001055424	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011030	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	131.04	
2.	131.05	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.