BOARD DATE: 7 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014832 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 BOARD DATE: 7 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014832 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is 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: * issuing orders reassigning the applicant from the Retired Reserve to HHC, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, Fort Eustis, VA, effective 7 February 2015 * issuing orders reassigning him from HHC, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, to the Retired Reserve effective 18 May 2015 * paying him all pay due and crediting him with the appropriate retirement points due as a result of this correction ______________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. BOARD DATE: 7 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150014832 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 the correction of his records by: * amending the effective date of the orders assigning him to the Retired Reserve to a date after he performed battle assemblies * publishing orders assigning him to a troop program unit (TPU) prior to the date of the battle assemblies * showing entitlement to the pay and points he is due for drilling with his unit 2. The applicant states: a. He would like the orders assigning him to the Retired Reserve amended back to TPU status and the effective date of his assignment to the Retired Reserve changed to a date after he performed battle assemblies. He would also like orders published assigning him to a TPU with an effective date prior to the date of the battle assemblies. He is providing all emails, DA Forms 1380 (Record of Individual Performance of Reserve Duty Training), and active duty for training (ADT) orders his unit sent him for the 2-week annual training. b. He would like to receive his pay and points for drilling the last 6 months. He was told by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), his unit, and Chaplain C that he was a TPU Soldier and had to report to his unit. HRC, Chaplain C, and the Commander, 5th Battalion (BN), 159th Aviation Regiment also gave him an option to stay in a TPU status or move to the Retired Reserve. He would like to continue serving as a TPU Soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR). He has called and written his unit, 99th Regional Support Command (RSC), Fort McCoy USAR Pay Center, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), HRC, Pentagon Command Chaplain, Chaplain C, and the 99th RSC Inspector General (IG) Office to fix his record. However, because HRC and Chaplain C did not send him the orders, the problem stayed the same. The 99th RSC IG informed him that he had to write the Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) to get the record corrected. c. In December 2015 [i.e., 2014], the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) revoked an errant discharge order and it was removed from his records. After the order came down from ARBA, he was placed back in his unit as a TPU Soldier with the 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment. He also received a call from the Chief of Chaplains office telling him that he had been put back in a TPU status and it was his duty to show up at the next drill with his unit in VA. While he was drilling with his unit, he was never paid nor did he receive points. d. In January 2015, he picked up his new identification (ID) card and started to drill. Afterward, he called HRC many times to get his recorded corrected, receive his orders, and to make sure that he was indeed in a TPU status. He was informed of the removal of an errant discharge order. After he started drilling, he was contacted by the manager of Chaplains and told that he had to change his military occupational specialty (MOS)/Area of Concentration (AOC) to stay in a TPU status. He started working with his unit to get that done. 3. The applicant provides: * 13 pages of email, dated between 16 January and 14 July 2015 * three orders, dated between 5 February and 18 June 2015 * Memorandum for Record (MFR), dated 8 March 2015 * five DA Forms 1380, dated 20 April and 17 May 2015 * DA Form 1559 (IG Action Request (IGAR)), dated 3 June 2015 * self-authored memorandum, undated CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant was born in January 1968. Having had prior enlisted service in the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army National Guard (ARNG), he was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer in the USAR and executed an oath of office on 14 March 2006. 2. He completed the Hospital Ministry Practicum from 3 January to 6 February 2007 and held AOC 56X (Chaplain Candidate). On 12 September 2011, he was promoted to (CPT)/O-3. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment, Fort Eustis, VA. 3. In March 2012, he submitted a request for resignation of his commission. Orders D-03-203779, dated 7 March 2012, issued by HRC, honorably discharged him from the USAR effective 6 April 2012. 4. He subsequently contacted HRC and requested his retirement points be recalculated and contended he had completed over 20 years of service towards a non-regular retirement. 5. An AHRC Form 249-E (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points), dated 20 June 2014, shows he completed 20 years, 6 months, and 9 days of qualifying service for retired pay. On 24 July 2014, HRC issued him a Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60 (20-Year Letter). 6. On 30 September 2014, he submitted a request to HRC to correct his records to show he was transferred to the Retired Reserve as he had recently received his 20-Year Letter. In an email response, dated 2 October 2014, HRC informed him that research showed he had a discharge date of 6 April 2012 and HRC was not authorized to revoke discharge orders with an expired effective date. He was informed he should apply to ARBA. 7. In October 2014, he submitted a request to the ABCMR for correction of his records to show he was transferred to the Retired Reserve on 6 April 2012 vice honorably discharged. 8. The applicant provides: a. An email to HRC, dated 16 January 2015, from Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) MKN, Army Reserve Careers Division, stating she received a call from the applicant, who was 47 years old and had not completed his seminary training. He mentioned he was moved by the ABCMR from the Retired Reserve to a USAR TPU unit and was told the USAR Chaplain Corps did not allow age waivers so he was unable to complete Chaplain training. He was interested in transferring into his original branch of Logistics and needed a point of contact to assist him. b. Order 013173, dated 5 February 2015, issued by 81st RSC, ordered HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment, and its member to active training (AT) for the period 15 to 26 June 2015. The applicant's name was listed on Annex E - Personnel Authorized Individual Travel. c. An email, dated 31 March 2015, from LTC AJS, Reserve Officer Division, informing the applicant that his errant discharge order had been revoked and asking him if he wished to continue to serve in his assigned TPU or be transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). d. An email, dated 30 April 2015, from Major (MAJ) DWS, Office of the Chief of Chaplains (OCCH), informing the applicant that his unit had him incorrectly assigned to a Chaplain position. Because he was no longer qualified to remain in the Chaplain Candidate Program or be accessed as a Chaplain he had the option to enter the Retired Reserve, enlist, be reappointed to another branch by 30 June 2015, or be honorably discharged. 9. The applicant provides DA Forms 1380 issued by HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation, dated 20 April and 17 May 2015, showing he completed training and was credited with retirement points as follows on : * 7 February 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 8 February 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 6 March 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 7 March 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 8 March 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 17 April 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 18 April 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 20 April 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 16 May 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points * 17 May 2015 - 8 hours, 2 retirement points 10. On 28 May 2015, the ABCMR granted the applicant's request and determined that at the time of his discharge from the USAR his retirement points had not been updated nor had he received his 20 Year Letter. The Board directed Orders D-03-203779, dated 7 March 2012, issued by HRC, be amended to show he was transferred to the Retired Reserve effective 6 April 2012 vice honorably discharged. 11. However, it was subsequently determined that Orders D-03-203779 had been revoked and were no longer in his records. As a result, on 18 June 2015 Headquarters (HQ), USAR Command, issued Orders 15-169-00003 reassigning the applicant from HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation, and assigning him to the Retired Reserve effective 6 April 2012. 12. In June 2015, the applicant submitted an IGAR to the 99th RSC IG requesting assistance in receiving pay and points for the times he had drilled with his unit. In an email response to the IG, dated 14 July 2015, the Financial Management Specialist, 99th RSC, stated based on Orders 15-169-00003 assigning the applicant to the Retired Reserve effective 6 April 2012 he had no authority to attend battle assembly with a TPU. He was not assigned to a TPU, had no order for any assignment, and could not be paid for his battle assemblies. His only course of action was to again request the ABCMR amend his orders and change the effective date and publish orders assigning him to a TPU prior to the dates of the battle assemblies. REFERENCE: Army Regulation 135-175 (ARNG and USAR - Separation of Officers) states members of the USAR will be removed from an active status for a variety of reasons with or without the officer’s consent regardless of the length of commissioned service. Removal will be by discharge, transfer to the Retired Reserve (if eligible and requested by the member) or, if eligible, transfer to control group (inactive). DISCUSSION: 1. It is unclear who revoked Orders D-03-203779 discharging the applicant from the USAR or who told him to report to HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment, while his application for transfer to the Retired Reserve was pending at the ABCMR. Regardless, he provided evidence that shows he attended ten battle assemblies with HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment, between 7 February and 17 May 2015 and evidence that shows he was not paid for his service or credited with the 20 retirement points he earned. 2. As a matter of equity, the Board may recommend correction of his records to show he was transferred from the Retired Reserve to HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment, effective 7 February 2015 and reassigned from HHC, 5th BN, 159th Aviation Regiment, to the Retired Reserve effective 18 May 2015. This correction would put him in a payable status during that period and allow him to be credited with the additional retirement points earned during that period. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014832 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150014832 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2