PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            3 June 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002080512

	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. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Member	
	Mr. Paul M. Smith		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, retroactive enrollment in and compensation from the Ready Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Program (RRMIIP).

3.  The applicant states that a fellow soldier brought in an Army Times Magazine, which had an article about the insurance program and the sign up forms enclosed.  He states that his section (motor pool) decided to complete the RRMIIP enrollment packets and returned them to the staff sergeant.  He states that the enrollment packets were sent to the incorrect destination and they were returned to the unit.  He states that the RRMIIP enrollment packet was later mailed to the correct destination.  He goes on to state that when his unit (the 805th Military Police (MP) Company) was informed that they might be deployed, they were told that if they had not signed up for the RRMIIP, they should have, and when he inquired about the RRMIIP forms that had already been completed, he was informed that the paperwork was missing and that everyone had to complete new enrollment packets.  He states that his commander’s letter states that the unit was not properly briefed until 12 July 1997 and that he cannot understand why everyone was approved for the RRMIIP except for him.  He concludes by submitting names of some of the soldiers that were in his unit that have been approved for RRMIIP benefits.  In support of his application he submits his RRMIIP enrollment packet dated 12 July 1997; a copy of his RRMIIP appeal packet; a copy of orders dated 24 August 1997, ordering him to active duty effective 19 August 1997; a copy of orders dated 9 April 1998, releasing him from active duty effect 18 April 1998; a copy of a memorandum dated 31 July 1998 from the former commander of the 805th MP Company attesting to the fact that the applicant was not properly briefed regarding the RRMIIP until 12 July 1997; and a copy of a memorandum from the RRMIIP Program Manager dated 16 July 2002, addressed to the Army Review Boards Agency indicating that he was requesting a re-look of his RRMIIP application.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that on 18 December 1989, he enlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) for 6 years in the pay grade of E-1 and he remained in the USAR through a series of reenlistments.  During the initial RRMIIP enrollment period he was assigned to the 805th MP Company in Raleigh, North Carolina.

5. On 12 July 1997, the applicant submitted a DD Form 2746 requesting enrollment in the RRMIIP under the $5,000.00 option.

6.  Orders were published on 24 August 1997, ordering him to active duty effective 19 August 1997 for a period not to exceed 270 days.  On 18 April 1998 the applicant was released from active duty upon completion of his required service.

7.  The records are unclear as to what actually happened to the applicant’s RRMIIP enrollment packet once he submitted it on 12 July 1997; however, on 31 July 1998, the former Commander, 805th MP Company submitted a memorandum (To Whom This May Concern) supporting the applicant’s contentions that he was not properly briefed on the RRMIIP during the initial enrollment period.  The commander stated that the program was mentioned to the applicant by another soldier in the 805th MP Company who saw the article in the Soldier’s Magazine and copies were made of the application and passed out to some of the unit members.  The commander went on to state that no official explanation of the program was rendered and that the program was not described in a classroom setting 

8.  On 16 July 2002, the RRMIIP Program Manager submitted a memorandum to the United States Army Reserve Personnel Command and in the memorandum he acknowledged that the applicant was requesting a re-look of his RRMIIP packet and that enrollment documents had been forwarded to the applicant to complete and to return to his office to be forwarded to the Defense Finance and Accounting Services for processing of payment.  However, no action was ever taken on his appeal packet.

9.  The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, dated 10 February 1996, authorized the RRMIIP with an initial start date of 1 October 1996.  The RRMIIP was designed to provide income insurance for most Reserve Component members who were involuntarily ordered to active duty in support of military operations for over 30 days.  The initial enrollment period for active members of the Reserve Components (USAR and National Guard) was 1 October 1996 through 31 December 1996.  Personnel who failed to enroll within 60 days after being briefed were considered to have declined.  Personnel on active duty were not eligible to apply for enrollment in the RRMIIP.  Personnel who enlisted in a Troop Program Unit after the initial enrollment period were required to be briefed on the program within 60 days of arrival in the unit and had 60 days after being briefed to enroll or decline.

10.  The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998, effective 18 November 1997, terminated the RRMIIP coverage for those not ordered to involuntary active duty as of that date and prohibited new enrollments.  Consequently, the USAR and the Army National Guard extended an administrative appeal process to Reserve Component soldiers who believed that they were wrongfully denied an opportunity to enroll.  All appeals had to be received in complete form as of 30 June 1998.

11.  The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense memorandum dated 14 November 1996, provided clarifying guidance regarding eligibility of Reserve members who were insured under the RRMIIP.  It states that during the period in which eligible members of the Reserve components who were members prior to the establishment of the RRMIIP are being offered an opportunity to enroll for coverage, such members being called to active duty for a period of covered service prior to having had the opportunity to enroll or decline to be insured under the RRMIIP, will have the option to elect coverage not to exceed the $1,000.00 basic amount.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The issue in this case is whether or not the applicant was properly briefed on the RRMIIP and was it accomplished within the prescribed timeframe.  The Board is convinced that the applicant was not properly briefed on the RRMIIP.

2.  His commander for the period covering 1 October 1996 through 31 December 1996 submitted a memorandum requesting that he be allowed the opportunity to enroll in the RRMIIP as the only information that was obtained regarding the RRMIIP was distributed by a fellow soldier who saw an article in the soldier’s magazine.  The Board has determined that collection of information obtained from the soldier’s magazine is not a briefing that would have allowed the applicant to make an informed decision regarding the program.

3.  The Board is unclear as to what happened with the applicant’s initial RRMIIP enrollment packet (submitted in response to the Army Times article).  However, the Board is clear on the fact that he was not properly briefed prior to being mobilized.  To deny him the opportunity to enroll in the RRMIIP or to limit the amount of his enrollment would be denying him an opportunity to be afforded the same benefits that other soldiers were afforded.

4.  Therefore, the Board accepts the applicant’s contention that he was not briefed on the program and was unjustly denied a benefit that he otherwise would have been able to receive had he been properly and timely briefed.  Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to enroll him in the RRMIIP under the $5,000.00 option effective 12 July 1997, the date that he submitted his application and, through no fault of his own, was denied.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was enrolled in the RRMIIP effective 12 July 1997 under the $5,000.00 option.

2.  That the individual concerned be afforded the opportunity to submit a DFAS-CL Form 1241/3 (RRMIIP Claim for Mobilization Insurance Benefits) and supporting documents for retroactive payment of RRMIIP benefits, minus any premiums he would have paid had he been properly enrolled on 12 July 1997.

BOARD VOTE:  

___jhl ___  ___jlp___  __pms___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____Joann Langston____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002080512	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/06/03	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION		
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  13	101.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.