RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  16 March 2004
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003091135

	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. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		Member	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry		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, in effect, that his discharge from the US Army Reserve (USAR) be voided and that he be reinstated to an active status in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).

2.  The applicant states that he was inducted in 1971, became an infantry soldier, attended airborne school, and served in Vietnam.  He has served in the USAR since 1982 and missed some weekend drills over the years due to personal problems.  He requested to be released to the IRR in October 2002 in order to continue his career as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) which would provide him the flexibility to make his own yearly training schedule and still have time for his family.  He had until 23 March 2003 to reenlist.  He was contacted and asked if he wanted to extend his enlistment for another 6-year period, which he agreed to.  He states that the IRR personnel later informed him that he was no longer eligible for reenlistment due to his age of 53 years, having missed one good year by 2 retirement points, and that at the age of 60 he would still be 2 points shy which would make it impossible to reenlist.  He contacted personnel who informed him that he would be eligible for retention due to his duty military occupational specialty (DMOS) of 37F, psychological operations specialist, which was designated as critical, and that soldiers with that MOS would be retained indefinitely.  He again contacted personnel at the Army Reserve Personnel Command (AR-PERSCOM) and was informed that he did not meet the criteria due to the fact that he was 2 points shy for retirement at age 60. 

3.  The applicant provides no documentation.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  At the age of 17, he entered active duty (AD) on 6 January 1967, as a light weapons infantryman.  His date of birth (DOB) is 15 December 1949.  He served in Vietnam from 14 February 1968 to 7 September 1969 and was honorably released from AD on 8 September 1969.  He was transferred to the USAR where he continued to serve until he was honorably discharged on 2 November 1970, in order to enlist in the New York Army National Guard (NYARNG).  

2.  He enlisted in the NYARNG on 3 November 1970 and continued to serve until he was honorably discharged on 9 September 1971.  He was transferred to the USAR and was honorably discharged on 5 October 1973. 

3.  After a break in service, he enlisted in the California Army National Guard (CAARNG) on 21 October 1986 for a period of 1 year.  He continued to serve until he was honorably discharged on 20 October 1987.  On 30 November 1987, he reenlisted in the CAARNG where he continued to serve until honorably discharged on 29 November 1988. 
4.  On 25 March 1991, he enlisted in the USAR for a period of 6 years with an established expiration of term of service (ETS) of 24 March 1997.  He was promoted to the pay grade of staff sergeant (SSG/E-6) with an effective date and date of rank (DOR) of 11 June 1996.  On 25 March 2003, the applicant was honorably discharged under the provision of Army Regulation 135-178, by reason of ETS in the rank of SSG, in MOS 37F.

5.  The applicant's records for the period 25 March 1991 to 25 March 2003 are unavailable for review.  His Summary of Retirement Points shows that he has completed 19 years of total service and 12 years of qualifying service for retirement purposes.

6.  Army Regulation 135-178 establishes the policies, standards, and procedures governing the administrative separation of enlisted soldiers from the Reserve Components.  Paragraph 1-3 states, in pertinent part, that orders discharging a soldier would not be revoked or the effective date changed after the effective date of discharge unless there was evidence of manifest error or fraud.  After the effective date of discharge, orders can be amended by the separation authority only to correct manifest errors such as the wrong character of service or to correct administrative errors such as rank, social security number, or misspelled name.

7.  Army Regulation 140-10 sets forth the basic authority for the assignment, attachment, detail, and transfer of USAR soldiers.  Chapter 7 of the regulation relates to the removal of soldiers from an active status and states, in pertinent part, that soldiers removed from an active status will be discharged or, if qualified and if they so request, will be transferred to the Retired Reserve.  Paragraph 7-3 provides guidance on length of Reserve service.  It states, in pertinent part, that the actual removal date will be the last day of the month in which the soldier reaches age 60.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's statement of retirement points shows that he had completed 12 years of qualifying service for retired pay and was not entitled to remain in the USAR to complete 20 years of qualifying service due to his age.

2.  At the time of the applicant's discharge, he was 53 years old and upon completion of an additional 8 years to qualify for a 20-year retirement his age would be 61.  However, according to regulation the applicant's removal date would be the last day of the month in which he reaches age 60.  Therefore, upon the applicant's age of 60 he would have not attained the 20 years needed for retirement at age 60.

3.  The applicant's statement of retirement points clearly shows that he failed to earn 50 or more points annually in more than one year while serving in an active status.  Therefore, he is not entitled to reinstatement in the IRR in an active status.  

4.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show 
to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that 
the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence
that would satisfy this requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__mm___  __rd____  ___hf____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

		____Mark D. Manning__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091135	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20040316	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	20030325	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 140-10	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	338	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.