PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            14 JANUARY 2002                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002068851

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Member	
	Ms. Mae M. Bullock		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 her March 2000 Department of Defense Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected to show that she entered active duty on 10 February 2000 vice 1 February 1998.  The applicant states, in effect, that she served on active duty between 1993 and 1996 and was discharged in 1996 by reason of physical disability.  In February 2000 she was permitted to reenlist and did so.  She notes that because of confusion in her orders she underwent 4 weeks of basic training and was then told she was being reassigned to Fort Lee.  While waiting for orders she was subsequently told she "was going home."  She states that she tried to explain that it was a mistake, but was discharged on 13 March 2000.  She states she recognized the error on her separation document, and tried to wait "until it was correct" but was given "orders to follow the instructions that were given" to her.  She states that the "only choice that was given to [her] was to board the plane or they will see [her] out of their office and with no military ID card and no money."  As a result of the error on her separation report she states she is now indebted to the Department of Veterans Affairs who claim she was paid disability compensation when records indicate she was on active duty.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant initially entered active duty on 30 December 1993 and was discharged by reason of physical disability on 2 January 1996.

4.  Although complete military personnel records associated with her second period of active duty were not available to the Board, an enlistment document (Department of Defense Form 4/1 Enlistment/Reenlistment Document Armed Forces of the United States) confirms that the applicant reenlisted for a period of 4 years in pay grade E-2 on 10 February 2000.  Enlistment documents indicate that she served on active duty between 23 December 1993 and 7 January 1996 and that she was receiving monthly disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Enlistment orders, issued by the Kansas City Military Entrance Processing Station, confirm that she enlisted on 10 February 2000 and was assigned to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

5.  Documents associated with her separation processing were also not available to the Board.  However, her Department of Defense Form 214 indicates that she was discharged on 13 March 2000 under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-40, chapter 5 as a result of disability, which existed prior to service.  Her service was uncharacterized. 

6.  Army Regulation 635-40, chapter 5, provides for separation of an enlisted soldier for non-service aggravated conditions, which existed prior to entry on active duty, when the soldiers requests waiver of the Physical Evaluation Board evaluation.  If a soldier is in an entry level status at the time of processing, their service may be uncharacterized.  Entry level status is the first 180 days of continuous active duty following a break of more than 92 days of active military service.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence clearly indicates that the applicant returned to active duty in February 2000, not 1998 as her March 2000 separation document indicates. Not only does her enlistment contact and enlistment orders confirm that she enlisted on 10 February 2000, the fact that her 2000 separation was uncharacterized, indicates that she would have had less than 6 months of service at the time of her separation.  The incorrect enlistment date also resulted in incorrect service computation data on the separation document which will also require adjustment.

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 on the applicant's March 2000 separation document that she entered active duty on 10 February 2000 vice 1 February 1998 and the service computation information on separation document be corrected accordingly.

BOARD VOTE:  

__MKP__  __JLP___  __MMB__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		    Margaret K. Patterson_
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002068851	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020114	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	110.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.