IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  23 February 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110016420 


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 in item 1 (Name) of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be changed. 

2.  The applicant states:

* her last name was changed due to marriage
* she got married on 18 August 2010

3.  The applicant provides her marriage certificate/license.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 4 November 1986 using the last name of Wxxxxx.  

2.  In 1988, she married her first husband and changed her last name to Dxxxx. 

3.  She remained on active duty through continuous reenlistments until she retired on 31 July 2010 in the rank of sergeant first class.

4.  Item 1 of her DD Form 214 shows the last name of Dxxxx.

5.  Her service personnel records from 1988 to the present show her last name as Dxxxx.

6.  She provided her marriage certificate/license which shows she remarried on 18 August 2010 and her last name was changed to Kxxxx. 

7.  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.  It 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 duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity of its records.  The data and information contained in those records should actually reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created.  In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed.  

2.  Her service personnel records from 1988 to 31 July 2010 show she served under the last name of Dxxxx, which was her first husband's last name.  She retired from active duty under this last name.  She remarried in August 2010 a few weeks after she retired and her last name is now Kxxxx.  While the applicant's desire to have the records changed is understandable, there is no basis for compromising the integrity of the Army's records, in particular, the applicant’s DD Form 214.  

3.  The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document which confirms her married name change will be filed in her Official Military Personnel File (OMPF).  This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion regarding the difference in the names in her OMPF and satisfy her desire to have her current married name documented in her OMPF.

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)                                         AR20110016420



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110016420



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