PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           5 August 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20030847
4

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Mr. Ronald J. Weaver		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 Order Number 364-00219 dated 30 December 1997 be removed from his military records.  In a supplemental request, the applicant requests that if the Board grants his request to delete this order, that he be given promotion reconsideration to pay grade E-7.

3.  The applicant states that the contested order revoked Order Number 
356-00201, which was an order which was published in error due to a power surge (computer generated orders).  He believes that this order revocation could be confusing to promotion boards, especially since the revocation references his promotion to the rank of staff sergeant.  He has just been notified that he has been considered for promotion to pay grade E-7 and not selected.  He believes that he was not selected for promotion because of the contested order.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 July 1986 and was honorably released from active duty at the expiration of his term of service on 7 July 1989.

5.  The applicant then served in an Army Reserve unit until his reenlistment in the Regular Army on 11 May 1993.

6.  He has served continuously on active duty since that reenlistment, being promoted to pay grade E-6.  He has an excellent performance record, with most of his noncommissioned officer evaluation reports (NCOER’s) being extremely laudatory.

7.  Army Regulation 640-10, Paragraph 4-4, states that once a document is placed in a soldier’s OMPF, the document will not be removed or moved to another section of the OMPF unless approved by appropriate authority.  This Board is listed as having the authority to remove from, or move documents in, a soldier’s OMPF.

8.  Army Regulation 600-200 outlines the policies and procedures for the promotion of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 7, in pertinent part, specifies that promotion reconsideration is authorized when a material error exists in a soldiers OMPF when it is reviewed by the promotion board.  A material error is, in effect, an error which would have reasonably provided a basis for the soldier not to have been selected for promotion.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Since an erroneous promotion order was published, it had to be revoked.  Such revocations are filed in the affected soldier’s OMPF.

2.  However, the applicant has an excellent military record and has been passed over for promotion to pay grade E-7.  This scenario brings into question whether the revocation order did, in fact, act as a “flag” to the promotion board.  Promotions in the Army are highly competitive, and any document which could indicate a potential flaw in the candidate could cause a promotion board not to select the individual.

3.  As such, the Board is of the opinion that it would be in the interest of justice to both remove the revocation of the erroneous promotion order, and to give the applicant promotion reconsideration to pay grade E-7.

4.  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:

	a.  removing Order Number 364-00219 dated 30 December 1997 from the OMPF of the individual concerned; and

	b.  having him reconsidered for promotion to pay grade E-7.

BOARD VOTE:  

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__________Luther L. Santiful______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003084709	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030805	
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.	134.00	
2.	131.00	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.