IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 6 December 2011 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110011028 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 her last name be changed in her service records. 2. The applicant states, on 24 June 2010, she divorced and changed her last name. 3. The applicant provides: * a statement written to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), dated 21 March 2011 * her Final Decree of Divorce, 25th Judicial District Court, Guadalupe County, TX CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant is a retired master sergeant (MSG)/E-8. On 30 June 2003, she was honorably retired and placed on the Retired List on 1 July 2003. Her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows her last name beginning with the letter "H." 3. On 24 June 2010, the applicant and her husband divorced and she legally changed her last name to start with the letter "N." 4. Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. In establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. In pertinent part it states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier’s most recent period of continuous active service. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge. It further state that the entry for block 9 (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name) to enter last name, first name, and full middle name or names, if any. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant requests correction of her records to show her current last name. 2. The applicant's evidence of record shows she served under her married name beginning with the letter "H." Her service records are consistent with the name she used at the time she served. Seven years after retirement, she divorced her husband and changed her last name to begin with the letter "N." 3. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records. The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created. There is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed. While it is understandable the applicant desires to now record her name change in her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army’s records at this late date. 4. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document along with her application and the supporting evidence she provided will be filed in her Official Military Personnel File. This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regards to the last name recorded in her military record (i.e., her DD Form 214) and her desire to have her records corrected to show her 2010 name change. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____X____ ____X____ ___X_____ 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. _______ _ _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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110011028 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110011028 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1