RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            JANUARY 13M 2004                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091042

	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. Luis Almodova		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 the effective date of his promotion to Chief Warrant Office Two (CW2), pay grade, W-2, be adjusted from 15 April 2003 to 1 December 2002 and that he be given all back pay and allowances which he was denied as a result of the delays in his being promoted.

2.  The applicant states that paperwork delays prevented the effective date from being the same date as his date of rank, 1 December 2002.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of Orders 303-404, prepared by Headquarters, I Corp and Fort Lewis, dated 30 October 2002; a DA Form 78, Recommendation for Promotion to 1LT/CW2; and a copy of a Memorandum from the Date of Rank Section, Promotions Branch, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command, dated 4 February 2003 to support his application to this Board.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Transportation Corps on graduation from the US Military Academy, West Point, New York, on 31 May 1997.

2.  The applicant served continuously on active duty, achieving the rank of Captain, pay grade O-3, on 1 December 2000.

3.  The applicant received a branch transfer to the Aviation Branch and was appointed to the rank of Warrant Office One (WO1), pay grade W-1 on 1 December 2002.  On appointment, he was awarded 5 years, 6 months, and 00 days constructive service credit.

4.  In addition to the branch transfer and appointment to warrant officer status, the applicant was reassigned from Fort Lewis, Washington, to Fort Rucker, Alabama, with a reporting date of 1 December 2002.

5.  On 3 December 2002, a request for a date of rank determination was submitted to the US Army Total Army Personnel Command.  The Date of Rank Section reviewed the applicant's records and service and determined that the applicant's date of rank as a WO1 is 31 May 1997.  The Date of Rank Section also determined that the applicant had attained eligibility for promotion to the grade of CW2 on 1 December 2002 and advised the officer to submit an application for the correction of his military records and a request for back pay to this Board.

6.  Item 2.e. (Date Forwarded to Recommending Official) shows that the recommending official submitted the DA Form 78 to the approving authority on 24 March 2003.  Item 4.c. shows that the approving official approved the applicant's promotion on 15 April 2003.

7.  The Promotion Orders Data (Item 7a through g of the DA Form 78) shows that the applicant was promoted on Permanent Orders 105-10780 issued by the US Army Aviation Center and Fort Rucker, Alabama, dated 15 April 2003.  The applicant's date of rank to CW2 was established as 1 December 2002.  The promotion was made effective 15 April 2003.

8.  In the processing of this case, a staff advisory opinion was obtained from the Promotions Branch, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command.  The Deputy Chief, Promotions Section, opined that the applicant was eligible for promotion to CW2 on 1 December 2002, in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-29, paragraph 3-3a(2).

9.  AR 600-8-29 prescribes policies and procedures governing promotion of Army commissioned and warrant officers on the active duty list.  Paragraph 3-3a(2) provides that a WO1 can be promoted on the second anniversary of total active duty service in the current or any higher grade provided that the officer has served a minimum of 18 months of active duty service as a WO1.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was branch transferred to the Aviation Branch and appointed to the rank of WO1 on 1 December 2002.

2.  The applicant was awarded 5 years, 6 months, and 00 days constructive service credit which made him immediately eligible for promotion to the rank of CW2 on the date of his appointment.

3.  There is evidence that the applicant's recommendation was inadvertently delayed, in part by the applicant's reassignment to Fort Rucker from Fort Lewis; hence, the applicant was not promoted until orders were published on 15 April 2003.

4.  The applicant's date of rank of 1 December 2002 is correct.  The effective date of the promotion is incorrect as shown, 15 April 2003, and should be changed retroactively to 1 December 2002.

5.  With adjustment of the effective date of promotion, the applicant is 
entitled to the difference in pay from pay grade W-1 and W-2 for the period from 1 December 2002 through 14 April 2003.

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:

a.  amending the effective date of the applicant's promotion from 15 April 2003 to 1 December 2002, the same as the applicant's date of rank; and

b.  that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service conduct an audit of the applicant's financial entitlements records and that as a result of this adjustment of the effective date of his promotion to CW2, that he be paid all pay and allowances that he was denied as a result of the delay in his being promoted on 1 December 2002.

		___Lana E. McGlynn___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091042	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20040113	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  1021	10.0000	
2.  3	100.0200	
3.  298	128.1500	
4.		
5.		
6.