BOARD DATE: 10 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006343 BOARD VOTE: ____x_____ ___x____ ___x_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 10 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006343 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is 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. deleting from the applicant's official records the voided 2013 and 2015 DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and allied documents; b. referring the applicant's case to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command to have him reinstated on the FY13 SFC Promotion List and, if he meets all other eligibility criteria for promotion, promoting him based on his sequence number; and c. if applicable, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service issuing him back pay and allowances. _____________x____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. BOARD DATE: 10 August 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160006343 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests removal of two DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 5 June 2013 and 2 December 2015, from his record and then reinstatement to the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) Sergeant First Class (SFC) Promotion List and promotion based on his promotion sequence number. 2. The applicant states: a. He failed to graduate from the 2013 Warrant Officer Candidate (WOC) program due to a unit administrative recall and injury in June 2013. b. In December 2015, he was released from the WOC course just days before graduating due to having exceeded the 2-year time restriction to complete the WOC program after being previously disenrolled/dismissed. c. The erroneous DD Forms 214 were placed in his official military personnel record. This action resulted in his removal from the FY13 SFC Promotion List. 3. The applicant provides: * two DD Forms 214 * Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) * three pages of emails with a U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) letter * a partial copy of FY13 SFC Considered/Selected List minus the page containing his name * the missing page of the promotion list (provided with a Congressional inquiry) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 September 1999 with reenlistments on 17 June 2003, 1 April 2005, and 6 January 2010. He is currently serving as a staff sergeant/pay grade E-6. 2. The FY13 SFC Considered/Selected List shows the applicant was selected for promotion and given sequence number 0418. 3. The applicant entered the WOC program. A Warrant Officer Candidate Command (WOCC) Form 17 (Recommendation for WOC Disposition), dated 31 May 2013, shows the applicant was disenrolled from the program due to an administrative recall by his unit. This form notes he could request reinstatement within 2 years of this date if the disenrollment was for medical, compassionate, or hardship reasons. 4. On 5 June 2013, the applicant received a DD Form 214 showing he was discharged from the Regular Army to accept a commission or warrant officer appointment in the Army. The separation authority shown is Army Regulation 635-200 (Personnel Separations – Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations), paragraph 16-1a. 5. Due to the inclusion of the 5 June 2013 DD Form 214 in his official file, he was removed from the FY13 SFC Promotion List. 6. The applicant appears to have been reinstated to WOCC in 2015. He was again disenrolled on or about 1 December 2015. The training command at Fort Rucker, AL, issued him a DD Form 214 on 2 December 2015 with the narrative reason for separation listed as to "accept a commission or warrant in the Army." 7. With the exception of the 2013 WOCC Form 17, the available official personnel file (in the interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS)) does not contain any administrative documentation as to when the applicant applied for, was enrolled in, or was released from a warrant officer program in either 2013 or 2015. 8. Based on his application to this Board, it appears HRC directed the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Fort Rucker, AL, to void his two erroneous DD Forms 214. By memorandum, the Military Personnel Division/Adjutant General at Fort Rucker, AL, stated they had voided the two DD Forms 214 with dates of service from 30 September 1999 through 5 June 2013 and 30 September 1999 through 2 December 2015 respectively. As the applicant did not graduate from WOC School and in accordance with Army Regulation 635-5 (Personnel Separations – Separation Documents), the DD Forms 214 should not have been prepared as he had not separated. 9. The copies of the DD Forms 214 currently in the applicant's iPERMS are marked "VOID." The original DD Forms 214 provided by the applicant as evidence are not filed in his record in iPERMS. 10. An advisory opinion, dated 12 August 2016, was obtained from the Chief, Promotions Branch, HRC. The advisory official states that in accordance with regulations, any Soldier on a selection list who is discharged from enlisted status to accept an appointment as a commissioned or warrant officer will be discharged. If the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) determines the applicant's DD Forms 214 are erroneous and directs removal from his official military records, then the promotions branch will reinstate him on the FY13 SFC Promotion List. 11. A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant. He did not respond. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-19 (Enlisted Promotions and Reductions), paragraph 4-15a(2)(b), states HRC will delete, without further board action, the name of any Soldier from a selection list who is discharged from enlisted status to accept appointment as a commissioned or warrant officer. 2. Army Regulation 635–200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations), paragraph 16-1, states Soldiers may be discharged for the purpose of being ordered to active duty as a commissioned or warrant officer in any branch of the Armed Forces. Before such discharge, the separation authority must have documentary evidence from the proper authority. The evidence must prove that the Soldier will be ordered to active duty if discharged from his/her enlisted status. Discharge will be effective the day preceding the date of entry on duty as a commissioned or warrant officer. 3. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Army Military Human Resource Records (AMHRR) Management) provides guidance for filing documents in the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). The U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Army Personnel Records Division, updates the list of authorized documents for filing in the OMPF quarterly. Each new list of authorized documents supersedes the list in Table B-1, Appendix B of Army Regulation 600-8-104. The list shows the DD Form 214 (copy 2) will be filed in the service, mobilization/deployment, personnel review, and finance review folders. According to this guidance a document will not be removed or moved to another part of the file unless directed by, among other agencies, the ABCMR or the AMHRR custodian when documents have been improperly filed. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant is currently a member of the Regular Army. He entered the WOC School twice, but on both occasions, due to administrative reasons, he did not complete the training. He was not appointed or ordered to active duty as a warrant officer. 2. The applicant was disenrolled from the WOC in 2013 due to being administratively recalled by his unit. It appears he was disenrolled from the WOC in 2015 because he did not meet the 2-year course reinstatement requirements. 3. Since the applicant was not appointed as a warrant officer, the DD Forms 214 should not have been issued. 4. Subsequent to the applicant’s application to the ABCMR, dated 30 March 2016, both DD Forms 214 were voided due to improper issuance. These forms are filed in his official record. 5. While the voiding of the DD Forms 214 should have rectified the applicant's promotion situation, HRC maintains that even though the DD Forms 214 were voided, it appears they have to be removed from the applicant's record in order for HRC to reinstate the applicant on the FY13 SFC Promotion List. By regulation this Board can direct the removal of documents from a Soldier’s record and this Board may further direct his reinstatement to the promotion list from which he was removed and his retroactive promotion based on the sequence number he held. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006343 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160006343 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2