PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:  13 September 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2001058994

	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. Paul A. Petty		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Terry L. Placek		Member	
	Mr. John E. Denning		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, in effect, that his Date of Rank (DOR) be adjusted to 30 September 1999.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his DOR for captain (CPT) was 1 October 1992.  He became eligible for promotion to major (MAJ) when he attained 
7 maximum years of service in grade (MYSIG), on 30 September 1999.  He was selected for promotion to MAJ on his first consideration but was not promoted until 3 January 2000.  Section 14304, Title 10, United States Code (USC), states officer will be considered for promotion to the next higher grade by a promotion board far enough in advance to completing the MYSIG so that if the officer is recommended for promotion, the promotion may be effective on or before the date on which the officer completes the MYSIG.  He had been assigned in a MAJ duty position since January 1999.  He provides copies of his promotion status notification and his promotion memoranda.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 1 March 1999, he, an Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) captain, was assigned in an authorized MAJ duty position, Training Officer, in the Headquarters, United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, Georgia.  His DOR for CPT was 1 October 1992.  He was considered for promotion to MAJ by the Calendar Year (CY) 1999 Army Reserve Mandatory Promotion Selection Board which convened on 2 March 1999.  The board adjourned on 2 April 1999 and recommended the applicant for promotion to MAJ.  The board’s recommendation was not approved until 9 months later on 3 January 2000.  On 14 January 2000, the Chief, Office of Promotions – Reserve Components, United States Total Army Personnel Center (PERSCOM) – St. Louis, published two memoranda, one notifying the applicant of his promotion status (that he was selected for promotion and that he was eligible for promotion on 30 September 1999) and one that promoted him to the rank of MAJ, effective 3 January 2000 (the date that the promotion board’s recommendations were approved).

5.   The Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA), a public law enacted by Congress on 5 October 1994, prescribes the policies and procedures to consolidate and modernize the laws that govern Reserve Component officers. The law became effective 1 October 1996.  Under this law, section 14304, 
Title 10, USC, when a Reserve CPT attains 7 years service in grade, termed maximum years of service in grade (MYSIG), the officer will be considered for promotion to the next higher grade by a promotion board far enough in advance to completing the MYSIG so that if the officer is recommended for promotion, the promotion may be effective on or before the date on which the officer completes the MYSIG.  An AGR officer must also be assigned to a next higher-grade position to be promoted to the next higher grade.

6.  Promoted officers receive pay and allowances in the higher grade beginning on the effective date.  However, ROPMA, as stated in the law, Title 10, United States Code, section 14308, specifically states that a Reserve officer is not entitled to additional pay or allowances if the effective date of the officer’s promotion (date of rank) is adjusted to reflect a date earlier than the actual date of the officer’s promotion.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was selected for promotion to MAJ on his first consideration by the CY1999 Army Reserve Mandatory Promotion Selection Board which adjourned on 2 April 1999.  The board’s recommendations were made in sufficient time so that the applicant could be promoted on or before his MYSIG, 30 September 1999.  However, an inordinate amount of time, 9 months, was taken to approve the boards recommendations which occurred on 3 January 2000.  This systemic error violated the intent and letter of the ROPMA law denying the applicant timely promotion according to law.  This error and injustice should be corrected, as an exception to policy, by adjusting his DOR for MAJ from 3 January 2000 to 30 September 1999.  However, law does not authorize pay and allowances at the MAJ rate between 30 September 1999 and 2 January 2000.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected for the individual concerned, as an exception to policy, by showing that his DOR for MAJ is 30 September 1999.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fe___  ___tp___  ___jd_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Fred N. Eichorn__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001058994	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010913	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	102.07 – Date of Rank	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.