IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 2 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015596 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: 2 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015596 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 amending his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), for the period ending 30 August 2011, by: a. deleting from item 4a (Grade, Rate or Rank) the current entry and replacing it with the entry "PFC"; b. deleting from item 4b (Pay Grade) the current entry and replacing it with the entry "E-3"; and c. deleting from item 12i (Effective Date of Pay Grade) the current entry and replacing it with the entry "2011 01 05." ___________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: 2 March 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150015596 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 his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his pay grade as "E03" versus "E01." 2. The applicant states his DD Form 214 should show he was separated in pay grade E-3 versus E-1, since he was promoted to E-3 based on college credits he earned prior to his enlistment. 3. The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 30 August 2011 and his DFAS Form 702 (Defense Finance and Accounting Service Military Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)) for the period 27 September 2011. 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) on 26 July 2010 and was ordered to active duty for training on 4 January 2011. He was attending advanced individual training for military occupational specialty (MOS) 38B (Civil Affairs Specialist) at the time of separation. 3. On 15 August 2011, his immediate commander recommended that he be separated from the service in accordance with Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 13, Unsatisfactory Performance, as a result of his failure of multiple Army Physical Fitness Tests. The commander recommended an honorable discharge and noted that the applicant had no derogatory information or disciplinary actions including nonjudicial punishment or court-martials. 4. On 22 August 2011, the separation authority approved his separation under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 13, Unsatisfactory Performance, and directed the issuance of an honorable discharge. 5. On 30 August 2011, the applicant was honorably discharged by reason of unsatisfactory performance. He completed 7 months and 27 days of net active service this period. His DD Form 214 reflects the following entries: * Item 4a (Grade, Rate or Rank) shows "PV1" * Item 4b (Pay Grade) shows "E01" * Item 12i (Effective Date of Pay Grade) shows "2010 07 26" 6. A thorough review of the applicant's record and discharge packet revealed no disciplinary actions were taken against him. His record is void of any documentation that reduced his rank while on active duty and/or as a result of his discharge from the Army. Additionally, throughout his discharge packet, his rank was consistently noted as private first class (PFC)/E-3. 7. A review of the Integrated Web Services (IWS) system, a web-based collection of data, applications, and tools to assist career managers and other human resource personnel in supporting Soldiers, reveals the applicant's date of rank to PFC as 5 January 2011. 8. The applicant's record contains documentation/transcript that shows he had completed 65 semester hours of college from the South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, Washington as of 29 July 2010. 9. The applicant provides a DFAS Form 702, for the period covering 27 September 2011, which shows he was paid in the grade of E-3 [PFC]. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, 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. For item 4a, enter the rank in which serving at the time of separation; for item 4b, enter the pay grade in which serving at the time of separation; and for item 12i, enter the effective date of promotion or reduction to the current pay grade. 2. Army Regulation 601-210 (Personnel Procurement – Active and Reserve Components Enlistment Program) prescribes eligibility criteria governing the enlistment of person, with or without prior service, into the Regular Army, the USAR, and the Army National Guard (ARNG). It states in pertinent parts: a. Paragraph 2-17 states persons enlisting in the Regular Army, Army Reserve, or ARNG without prior service will be enlisted in pay grade private E-1 (PV1). Exceptions are shown in paragraph 2-18 or when the applicant qualifies to enter in a higher entry pay grade as outlined under the ACASP [Army Civilian Acquired Skills Program]. b. Paragraph 2-18 states an applicant, without prior service, who: (1) Has successfully completed 48 or more classroom semester hours at an accredited degree granting college or university may enlist at any time at pay grade PFC (emphasis added). (2) Lack of documentation required for advance promotion under this paragraph at time of enlistment, they may submit supporting documentation to the personnel officer within 6 months of enlistment. (3) Effective date and date of rank for Soldiers who lacked documentation at time of enlistment will be the effective date of the promotion by the unit commander. The promotion will be for the grade the Soldier is qualified for at the time of enlistment. c. Paragraph 2-19 states if an enlistee, after arrival at the reception battalion, if an error in entry grade is identified after review of a new Soldier's enlistment contract, the human resources specialists at all reception battalions are authorized to generate/authenticate a grade change in the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources Systems (DIMHRS) to provide the correct entry grade. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant's request for correction of his DD Form 214 to show his pay grade as "E03" versus "E01" was carefully considered. 2. The applicant contends that as a result of his college credits that he earned prior to his enlistment, he received a promotion to the rank of PFC. He further contends this rank should be reflected on his DD Form 214. The evidence of record shows his rank/grade is referred to in his separation documentation as PFC/E-3. His record is void of any documentation that reduced his rank while on active duty and/or as a result of his discharge from the Army. 3. His record indicates he had 65 semester hours of college credit prior to his enlistment. Although, his enlistment contract did not state he came into the service in the pay grade of E-3; applicable Army regulations state an applicant may submit proof of college credit hours within 6 months of enlistment or at the reception battalion, a review of his record may change his pay grade if an error occurred. 4. The IWS and DIMHRS databases identifies the applicant's rank as PFC with a promotion date of 5 January 2011, one day after his entry on active duty. It would appear that his pay grade was corrected and entered into the applicable Army systems. In addition, he provides an LES that states his grade as E-3. 5. A preponderance of evidence shows the applicant was a PFC/E-3 throughout his period of active duty service. Therefore, it is reasonable to presume that an error occurred in the preparation of his DD Form 214 at the time of separation. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150015596 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150015596 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2