IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 August 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014010 BOARD VOTE: ___x_____ ___x___ ___x____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 August 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014010 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 adding to item 18 of her DD Form 214 the entry "Member has completed first full term of service." __________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. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 25 August 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014010 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, service credit to show she completed her term of enlistment. 2. The applicant states she was involuntarily released from active duty 7 days prior to the end of her enlistment. She needs 24 months of continuous active service to qualify for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits under Title 38, Code of Federal Regulation, section 3.12a. She is unable to qualify for VA benefits. 3. The applicant provides her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty). 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 enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) under the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), for 6 years, on 17 December 1980. 3. She was discharged from the DEP and enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) for a 2-year term on 3 March 1981. The expiration of her term of service (ETS) date was established as 2 March 1983 4. She held military occupational specialty 95B (Military Police) and she served in Germany from 3 July 1981 to around 22 February 1983. 5. On 11 January 1983, Headquarters, 378th Personnel Service Company, Germany, published Orders 011-20 reassigning her to the U.S. Army Transfer Point at Fort Jackson, SC for separation processing effective 28 February 1983. The orders listed her availability date as 25 February 1983, her reporting date as 28 February 1983, and her ETS date as 2 March 1983. 6. Also on 11 January 1983, the U.S. Army Transfer Point issued an amendment to her separation orders to show the effective date of her release from active duty (ETS date) as 25 February 1983 vice 2 March 1983. 7. She was honorably released from active duty in the rank/grade of private first class (PFC)/E-3 on 25 February 1983 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (USAR) to complete her remaining Reserve service obligation. 8. Her DD Form 214 shows she was separated in accordance with chapter 4 of Army Regulation(AR) 635-200 (Personnel Separations) by reason of ETS. It also shows: * she was assigned Separation Code "LBK" and Reentry (RE) Code "3C" * she completed 1 year, 11 months, and 23 days of net active service this period. * Item 18 (Remarks) does not indicate if she had completed her first term of service 9. On 25 March 1986, the USAR Personnel Center published orders honorably discharging her from the USAR effective 2 March 1987 due to completion of her service obligation. REFERENCE: 1. AR 635-200 provides for the separation of enlisted personnel. Chapter 4 applies to Soldiers separating by reason of completion of required active service. 2. AR Regulation 635-5-1 (Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes) states that the SPD codes are three-character alphabetic combinations that identify reasons for, and types of, separation from active duty. Two codes are used for Soldiers released from active duty for completion of required active service under the provisions of chapter 4 of AR 635-200: a. The SPD code of "LBK" is the correct code for RA Soldiers involuntarily released from active duty for completion of required active service under the provisions of chapter 4 of AR 635-200 who sign a Declination of Continued Service Statement or are ineligible for, barred from, or otherwise denied reenlistment at the completion of their enlistment. b. The SPD code of "MBK" is the code for Soldiers voluntarily released from active duty for completion of required active service under the provisions of chapter 4 of AR 635-200 when eligible to reenlist and are transferred to the Reserve component to complete their military service obligation. 3. AR 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214. The purpose of the separation document is to provide the individual with documentary evidence of his or her active military service. The DD Form 214 is a summary of a Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. The regulation in effect at the time stated: a. Use the remarks section for entries required by Headquarters, Department of the Army for which a separate item is not available on the form and for completing entries that are too long for their blocks. b. One of the mandatory entries is whether a Soldier has or has not completed full term of service. Review Soldiers' original contract and enter statement that applies. Routinely, a Soldier should not be considered to have completed the first full term of active service if separation occurs before the end of the initial contracted period of service. However, if a Soldier reenlists before the completion of that period of service, the first term of service is effectively redefined by virtue of the reenlistment contract. To determine if an enlisted Soldier has completed the first full term of enlistment, refer to the enlistment/reenlistment documents and compare the term(s) of enlistment to the net service in block 12c of the DD Form 214. If a Soldier has completed or exceeded the initial enlistment, enter "has." If item 12c of the DD Form 214 is less than the Soldier's initial enlistment, enter "has not. c. The U.S. Army Human Resources Command clarified the issue of completion of first full term of enlistment in the 2013 edition of AR 635-5. This revised version states as an exception, if the narrative reason for separation on the DD Form 214 is "completion of required active service" then the entry is "Has." 5. AR 601-210 (RA and Army Reserve Enlistment Program) covers eligibility criteria, policies, and procedures for enlistment and processing into the RA and the USAR. Table 3-1 included a list of the RA RE codes. * An RE code of "1" applies to Soldiers completing their term of active service who are considered qualified to reenter the U.S. Army; they are qualified for enlistment if all other criteria are met * An RE code of "3" applies to Soldiers who are not considered fully qualified for reentry or continuous service at the time of separation, but the disqualification is waivable; those individuals are ineligible unless a waiver is granted * An RE-3C (in effect at the time) applied to individuals who had completed over 4 months service but did not meet the pay grade requirements of chapter 2, or who had been denied enlistment pursuant to chapter 4 of AR 600-200; ineligible for enlistment unless waiver is granted DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant enlisted in the RA for a 2-year term. She served on active duty from 3 March 1981 to 25 February 1983, a period of 1 year, 11 months, and 23 days of actives service. It appears she is in need of 7 more days to show completion of 24 months which may qualify her for VA benefits. 2. It appears when the applicant left Germany on 24 February 1983 (availability date) and reported to Fort Jackson, SC for outprocessing, she completed her outprocessing rather quickly and there was no reason to retain her in the Army at the Transfer Point. As a result, she was separated on 25 February 1983 rather than 2 March 1983. As she was not on active duty from 26 February to 2 March 1983, she does not qualify for service credit for this period. 3. Her enlistment contract called for a 2-year enlistment in the RA. When she was released from active duty, she had not completed the terms of her contract at the time, albeit due to no fault of hers. Nevertheless, based on the update to AR 635-5, when the narrative reason for separation on the DD Form 214 is "completion of required active service" then the entry is "Has." As a matter of equity, her DD Form 214 should be corrected to show the entry "member has completed first full term of service." //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014010 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014010 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2