PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           14 August 2003     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003085535

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Ms. Linda M. Barker		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, in effect, that her Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) records be changed to show her service entry date as 
6 September 1977. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that currently her retired pay is calculated using the "High 3" method and she believes this is incorrect.  She contends that her date initially entered military service (DIEMS) is 6 September 1977 and that it is her understanding that personnel with a DIEMS date before 8 September 1980 receive "Final Basic Pay" not "High 3."  She further contends that in order to correct her retired pay, DFAS requires a corrected "Statement of Service" with her correct DIEMS date of 6 September 1977.  In support of her application, she submits a copy of a Memorandum for DFAS, dated 21 February 2002, wherein she requests correction of her retired pay; a copy of her DD Form 4 (Enlistment or Reenlistment Agreement); and her retirement orders, dated 20 November 2000. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 6 September 1977 she enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), Control Group Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).  She was discharged from the USAR Control Group ROTC effective 20 December 1980, commissioned as a Reserve officer on 
21 December 1980 and entered active duty on 7 February 1981.  The applicant retired in the rank of major on 31 March 2001 after completing over 20 years of active duty service. 

5.  The DODFMR, volume 7B, paragraph 030401A (later 030108) 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.  The applicant meets the eligibility requirements outlined in the DODFMR, paragraph 030401 to have her time in ROTC from 6 September 1977 through 
20 December 1980 counted towards computing her gross retired pay under the “old” percentage of basic pay rate system.

2.  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 she entered a Uniformed Service on 6 September 1977.

2.  That the applicant be paid the difference in retired pay retroactive to 1 April 2001 as a result of the above correction.

BOARD VOTE:  

RVO____  JEA____  LMB_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O'Connor____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003085535	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030814	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	128.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.