BOARD DATE: 3 November 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150009243 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, in effect, correction of her AHRC Form 249-E (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points) to show she completed 20 qualifying years of service for non-regular retirement and entitlement to retired pay at age 60. 2. The applicant states: * she entered the Army in 1969 * her records were burned in St. Louis in the 1970s * she was very young and had no experience with record keeping * at the time, the Army did not give Soldiers copies of their records * she claims she lost 6 years of military credit and she has exhausted all available avenues to restore her lost time * she completed 23 total years of active and Reserve service * she was credited with 19 years, 10 months, and 7 days of qualifying service for non-regular retired pay on 27 January 2000 * she also visited a recruiter in her area and he advised her that she needed 1 more point to qualify for retirement 3. The applicant provides her AHRC Form 249-E dated 27 January 2000. 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. Notwithstanding the applicant’s statement that her records were burned, the ABCMR was able to obtain her active duty and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) records from the National Personnel Records Center. They were not part of the records that were burned in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. 3. The applicant was born on XX May 1948 and she turned 60 years old on XX May 2008. 4. She enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps on 24 January 1969 and was honorably released from active duty on 30 November 1971. Her DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows she completed 2 years, 10 months, and 7 days of active service. 5. After a break in service, she enlisted in the USAR on 15 September 1973. She served through multiple extensions or reenlistments in a variety of troop program unit (TPU) assignments as an x-ray technician. She was promoted to sergeant first class (SFC)/E-7 on 28 June 1989. 6. Her last reenlistment was for a 3-year term executed at the Sacramento Army Reserve Center on 9 January 1994. Her new expiration of her term of service (ETS) date was established as 8 January 1997. 7. On 15 June 1994, she was transferred from her TPU (6253rd U.S. Army Hospital, Sacramento, CA) to another TPU (921st Field Hospital, Sacramento, CA). 8. On 8 January 1997, with the concurrence of the applicant, her TPU commander submitted a DA Form 4651-R (Request for Reserve Component Assignment or Attachment) requesting the applicant’s voluntary reassignment to the Retired Reserve, effective 31 November 1997. 9. The orders that discharged her from the USAR are not available for review. However, her AHRC Form 249-E shows she was transferred to the Retired Reserve on 9 October 1997. 10. Her AHRC Form 249, dated 27 June 2000, and her current AHRC Form 249 both show she completed 19 years, 10 months, and 7 days of qualifying service toward non-regular retirement. She had 2,495 total creditable points. 11. There is no indication in her records that she was issued a 20-year letter or that she made a Reserve Components Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) election. 12. In or around September 2013, she submitted a DD Form 108 (Application for Retired Pay Benefits) to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) regarding receipt of retired pay at age 60. It appears HRC returned her request without action because she did not meet the 20 qualifying years of service requirement. 13. While not all inclusive, a review of her chronological statement of retirement points shows the following accounting: FROM TO COMPONENT TOTAL POINTS QUAL YEAR 19970915 19971008 USAR 1 00/00/00 19960915 19970914 USAR 25 00/00/00 19950915 19960914 USAR 62 01/00/00 19940915 19950914 USAR 79 01/00/00 19770915 19780914 USAR 49 00/00/00 19760915 19770914 USAR 43 00/00/00 19740915 19750914 USAR 60 01/00/00 19730915 19740914 USAR 58 01/00/00 19711201 19730914 Break 19710124 19711130 RA 311 01/00/00 19700124 19710123 RA 365 01/00/00 19690124 19700123 RA 365 01/00/00 TOTAL 2495 19/10/07 14. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 12731, provides that a non-regular (Reserve) service member is entitled to retired pay upon application if the person is at least 60 years of age, has performed at least 20 years of qualifying service, and (having completed the service requirement during the period beginning 1 October 1994 and ending 30 September 1999) shall have performed the last 6 years of qualifying service while a member of a Reserve Component. In 2006, the requirement to have the last 6 qualifying years in the Reserve Component was eliminated (reduced to zero). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. By law and regulation, Reserve Component members are required to complete 20 years of qualifying service in order to be eligible for non-regular retired pay. A qualifying year of service for non-regular retired pay is a full retirement year during which a Regular or Reserve member is credited with a minimum of 50 retirement points. 2. In this case the applicant did not complete 20 qualifying years of service. As such, from a statutory and regulatory standpoint, she does not qualify for non-regular retired pay. She lacked one qualifying year of service. 3. She contends that she completed 23 years of total active and Reserve service. While mathematically this may be true, her 23 years of total service were not all qualifying service toward non-regular retired pay. A review of her record shows she had only 19 years, 10 months, and 7 days of qualifying service with 2,495 creditable points. 4. Nevertheless, during retirement year ending (RYE) 19770915-19780914, the applicant earned 49 retirement points, which were insufficient for that particular RYE to count as a qualifying year. The applicant also earned in excess of 50 retirement points during several previous years. Therefore, redistributing 1 of her excess points to RYE 19770915-19780914 would credit her with 50 retirement points for this RYE and a qualifying year which would subsequently entitle her to non-regular retired pay for 20 qualifying years of service. 5. The above correction would qualify the applicant to receive notification of eligibility to receive retired pay at age 60 (20-year letter). However, since she is already beyond 60 years of age and with the above correction, she qualifies to be placed on the Retired List in the rank/grade of SFC/E-7 effective 10 May 2008, with entitlement to retired pay effective that date. 6. A Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) election must be made (emphasis added) prior to the effective date of retirement or the SBP will, by law, default to automatic SBP spouse coverage (if married). This correction of records may have an effect on the applicant's SBP status/coverage. The applicant is advised to contact her nearest Retirement Services Officer (RSO) for information and assistance immediately. A listing of RSO's by country, state, and installation is available on the Internet at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/RSO/rso.asp. The RSO can also assist with any TRICARE questions the applicant may have. BOARD VOTE: __X______ __X______ __X___ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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: * redistributing 1 of the applicant's excess retirement points to RYE 19770915-19780914 to provide her with a full qualifying year of service for this RYE (50 points) * placing the applicant on the Retired List in the rank/grade of SFC/E-7 effective 10 May 2008 * paying her retired pay effective 10 May 2008 _______ _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) AR20150009243 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150009243 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1