PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            1 April 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003085964

	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 L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern, III		Member	
	Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy, Jr.		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 the reconstructed DA Form 4824-R (Addendum to Certificate and Acknowledgement of Service Requirements (DA Form 3540) for All Personnel Applying for Participation in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)/Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP)) be determined to be valid.  This would allow the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to adjust her pay entry basic date (PEBD) due to her membership in the SMP.

3.  The applicant states that in the early years of the SMP, the DA Form 4824-R was not required to be forwarded to the member's Military Personnel Records Jacket.  The form was not retained by the university's military science department beyond 4 years from the date of origination and was subsequently destroyed.  She retires on 1 May 2003.  DFAS insists on having this form before they will adjust her PEBD.

3.  The applicant’s military records show that she had prior enlisted service in the Army (Delayed Entry Program and Regular Army) from 5 March 1974 through  16 June 1977.  

4.  After a break in service, the applicant enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 6 January 1979 for 1 year.  She acknowledged that she was obligated to serve at least 2 weeks active duty for training and to attend at least 48 drills per year.

5.  On 3 January 1980, the applicant enlisted in the USAR Control Group (ROTC).  On that date, she signed a DA Form 597 (Army Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Student Contract) as a non-scholarship cadet enrolling in the Senior ROTC Program Advanced Course.  

6.  On 5 January 1980, the applicant reenlisted in the USAR for 3 years.  She acknowledged that she was obligated to attend at least 48 drills per year and serve on active duty for training at least 14 days per year.  She was assigned to the 396th Station Hospital, Helena, MT at the time.

7.  An annual statement of retirement points dated 1 September 1981 shows the applicant earned a total of 59 retirement points during retirement year 6 January 1980 to 5 January 1981.  

8.  On 29 July 1981, the applicant was honorably discharged from the Ready Reserve due to her appointment as a commissioned officer in the USAR.  On   30 July 1981, she was commissioned early as a second lieutenant in the USAR.  She entered active duty on 20 September 1982.

9.  The applicant is scheduled to retire on 1 May 2003.  In processing her retirement, the Fort Belvoir, VA finance office attempted to reconstruct the DA Form 4824-R that apparently had originally been prepared when she enrolled in ROTC.  The applicant signed this document on 6 December 2002.  A Professor of Military Science signed this document as the recruiting official on 4 January 2003.  Fort Belvoir, VA also prepared a DA Form 1506 (Statement of Service – For Computations of Length of Service for Pay Purposes) and indicated the applicant served in the ROTC SMP from 3 January 1980 through 29 July 1981.  

10.  On 27 February 2003, DFAS informed the applicant that they could not accept the DA Form 4824-R as it had too many discrepancies and could not be used to validate her participation in the SMP.  However, if the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) determined that the reconstructed DA Form 4824-R is valid and legally sufficient, it would be accepted as valid documentation and her PEBD changed accordingly.

11.  The ROTC/SMP is a voluntary officer training program designed to increase the number of ROTC officers available for Reserve Forces Duty.  Subject to limitations, it permits an ROTC cadet to train in the ROTC Advanced Course while simultaneously participating as an officer-trainee in paid training assemblies with a USAR troop program unit (TPU).  To be eligible for ROTC/SMP participation, a cadet must be enrolled in the ROTC Advanced Course nonscholarship program; be assigned to a verified officer-trainee position in a TPU; meet the Army body composition/weight control standards; and agree to volunteer for commissioning under the provisions of the ROTC Early Commissioning Program on successful completion of the ROTC Advanced Course.

12.  Public Law 104-201, section 507, dated 23 September 1996, amended the provisions of the law to provide service credit for the SMP retroactive to 1 August 1979, when SMP actually began.  The revisions will result in no increase in pay, retired or retainer pay before the date of enactment, 23 September 1996.  If the credit results in a higher basic pay due to a change in the PEBD, the effective date of the increase will be 23 September 1996.

13.  Message 161200Z Jan 97, DA Washington DC//DAPE-MPO-S// Subject:  Service Credit for Senior ROTC Cadets and Midshipmen in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP), provided policy guidance and authority to recompute the PEBD based on service credit under the SMP.  Normally, officers on active duty will submit supporting documentation to their respective personnel officer who would then forward a revised version of the DA Form 1506 with copies of the SMP contract and commissioning orders to the servicing finance center.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant's original DA Form 4824-R is not available, there is credible evidence to verify her contention that she was in the ROTC SMP from   3 January 1980 through 27 July 1981.

2.  There is evidence in the applicant's records to show she was assigned to a Selected Reserve unit prior to and during her time in the Senior ROTC.  When she enlisted in the USAR on 6 January 1979, she acknowledged that she was obligated to serve at least 2 weeks active duty for training and to attend at least 48 drills per year.  Although a retirement points statement is not available for the period 6 January 1979 through 5 January 1980, there is no evidence to show she failed to participate and she was allowed to reenlist on 5 January 1980.  

3.  There is evidence to show the applicant earned 59 retirement points during the period 6 January 1980 through 5 January 1981.  It appears reasonable to believe that she continued to actively participate until she was commissioned on 30 July 1981.  

4.  There is evidence to show the applicant accepted early commissioning, one of the requirements for acceptance into the SMP.  

5.  There is no evidence to show the applicant participated as an officer-trainee in paid training assemblies with her USAR TPU.  However, she was attending ROTC in order to be commissioned, so it appears reasonable to believe that she did so.  

6.  Any reasonable doubts in this case should be resolved in favor of the applicant.

7.  Therefore, it appears the applicant meets the eligibility requirements to have her membership time in the SMP from 3 January 1980 through 29 July 1981 credited towards her PEBD.  The reconstructed DA Form 4824-R prepared on the applicant should be accepted as a valid and legally sufficient document to use in adjusting her PEBD.  

8.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the DA Form 4824-R prepared for the applicant on      4 January 2003 is a valid and legally sufficient document reconstructing the DA Form 4824-R that should have been prepared on 3 January 1981.
2.  That the applicant's PEBD be adjusted as a result of accepting the reconstructed DA Form 4824-R as a valid and legally sufficient document.

3.  That the applicant be paid any active duty pay and allowances due her as a result of this adjustment of her PEBD. 

4.  That the applicant’s retired pay be recomputed as required as a result of this adjustment.

BOARD VOTE:  

__aao___  __tbr___  __teo___      GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Arthur A. Omartian______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003085964	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030401	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Schneider	
ISSUES         1.	104.003.0003	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.