RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            JANUARY 13, 2004                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2003090429

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Patrick H. McGann		Member	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests that her records be corrected to reflect that she has 20 qualifying years of service for retirement or that her mandatory removal date be changed to 15 January 2003.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she continued to do correspondence courses and believed that she was still in the United States Army Reserve (USAR).  She also had received her Chronological Statement of Retirement Points (ARPC Form 249-2-E) indicating that she had 20 qualifying years of service for retirement purposes; however, a recomputation was done and she ended up with only 19 years of service and being ineligible to receive retirement benefits for her service.

3.  The applicant provides copies of her retirement points statements, copies of her extension beyond mandatory removal date, correspondence course completions, and her orders transferring her to the Retired Reserve. 

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant was born on 16 February 1941 and was commissioned as a USAR captain in the Army Nurse Corps on 27 December 1980.  She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on 27 May 1993.

2.  On 24 June 1993, the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) approved her request for retention beyond her mandatory removal date (MRD).  She was granted retention to 28 February 2001.

3.  On 11 December 2000, she submitted another request for an extension of her MRD to 16 February 2003, her 62nd birthday.  There is no evidence that any action was ever taken on that request.

4.  On 15 January 2003, the Army Reserve Personnel Command (formerly ARPERCEN) notified the applicant that she had completed the maximum number of years in the USAR prescribed by law as of 15 January 2003, and that she was required to complete an option statement to reflect her choice of options.

5.  A review of her four retirement points statements dated 25 January 2002 through 7 March 2003 indicate that she had 20 qualifying years of service.  However, a statement dated 3 April 2003 indicates that her last USAR service in an active status ended on 16 February 2001 and that she had only 19 years, 1 month and 22 days of total active service. 

6.  However, orders transferring her to the Retired Reserve were not published by the ARPERSCOM until 5 February 2003, with an effective date of 5 February 2003. 

7.  The documents submitted by the applicant show that she continued to take correspondence courses as late as December 2002.

8.  On 2 April 2003, the ARPERSCOM notified the applicant that her application for retired pay had been received; however, an audit of her records revealed that she had 19 years, 1 month and 21 days of qualifying service and thus was ineligible for retired pay at age 60.  She was advised to apply to this Board if she believed that an error or injustice had occurred.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  On 7 March 2003, the chronological statement of retirement points had a retirement year ending (RYE) date of 6 February 2003 and indicated that the applicant had 20 qualifying years of service for retirement purposes.  However, on 3 April 2003, a new statement was published which indicated that her RYE date was 16 February 2001 and that she had only 19 years, 1 month and 22 days of qualifying service.  

2.  The evidence of record suggests that the applicant did in fact continue to serve and that her separation was back-dated after the fact, which resulted in her losing points that she had previously been credited with and putting her in a situation where she could no longer qualify for retired pay.

3.  The evidence also suggests that she continued to serve in good faith until she was transferred to the Retired Reserve and it was not until she applied for Retired Pay that an audit was conducted and her records were changed to make her ineligible to qualify for Retired Pay.  

4.  Accordingly, the evidence suggests that numerous administrative errors on the part of the Department resulted in the applicant being denied a benefit that she otherwise had been led to believe she would be able to receive.  Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to extend the applicant's service as an exception to policy, to show that she served until the RYE date of 25 December 2001 (vice 16 February 2001), that she earned a qualifying year of service during that year and that she is eligible for Retired Pay as of the date of her application for Retired Pay. 

BOARD VOTE:

phm_____  lem_____  rwa_____  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by extending her service as an exception to policy to show her RYE date as 25 December 2001, by granting her a qualifying year of service for that year and by approving her application for Retired Pay, effective the date of her application. 

		___Lana E. McGlynn____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090429	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20040113	
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.  135.0200	334/ret pts	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.