ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 26 November 2019 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170001958 APPLICANT REQUESTS: a change to his narrative reason for separation (block 28) from non-selection, permanent promotion to retirement. The applicant requests an appearance before the Board. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states that he was processed for separation from active duty and he should have been processed for retirement. He was commissioned in 1988 and served continuously until 2015 (minus one year of inactive reserve). He came on active duty in 2008 at Fort Knox. As such, he was processed for separation as if he only had 7 or so years of active duty time. While true, that does not take into consideration all of his service time. He needs to be processed as a retiree. 3. A review of the applicant’s service record shows the following: a. He enlisted in the Regular Army on 15 August 1986. He reenlisted on 28 August 1986 in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) as a cadet. b. His DA Form 71 (Oath of Office-Military Personnel) commissioned him as a reserve officer effective 17 July 1988. c. DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report), dated 4 October 1989, shows the applicant successfully completed Tank-Auto Material Management Officers Basic 13-89. d. Orders 176-0151, dated 25 June 2014, assigned the applicant to Fort Knox, KY and discharges the applicant from the component Regular Army effective 30 September 2014. e. After an exhaustive search no additional documents and/or orders are available for the Board to review regarding his separation due to non-selection for permanent promotion. f. He was discharged from active duty on 30 September 2014 with an honorable character of service. His DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows he entered active duty on 1 December 2008. In block 25 (Separation Authority) AR 600-8-24 (Officer Transfers and Discharges) paragraph 5-9 (Rules for processing commissioned officers who are twice nonelected for active duty list promotion). Block 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) shows non- selection, permanent promotion. It shows that he completed 9 years, 11 months, and 9 days of active duty service. It also shows that he served 16 years, 2 months, and 15 days of inactive service. g. Notification of Eligibility for Retired pay at Non-Regular Retirement (20 Year letter), dated 6 July 2018, shows the applicant has completed the required years of qualifying reserve service and is eligible for retired pay upon application at age 60. 4. By law, a Reserve Soldier must complete a minimum of 20 qualifying years of service to be eligible for retired pay at age 60. A person is entitled, upon application, to retired pay if the person has attained the eligibility age applicable and has performed at least 20 years of service. At the time of his retirement, the law required the last 8 years of qualifying service to be in the Reserve. 5. By regulation (AR 135-180), paragraph 2-1a indicates that to be eligible for retired pay an individual does not need to have a military status at the time of application for retired pay, but must have (1) attained age 60; (2) completed a minimum of 20 years of qualifying service; and (3) served the last 8 years of his or her qualifying service as a Reserve Component (RC) Soldier. The requirement to serve the last 8 years in an RC was later amended to the last 6 years, and on 26 April 2005 this requirement was reduced to zero (0) years. 6. AR 635-8 (Personnel Separations Separation Processing and Documents) paragraph 5-6, states that block 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) is based on regulatory or other authority and can be checked against the cross reference in AR 635–5–1 (Separation Program Designator Codes). 7. By regulation, an applicant is not entitled to a hearing before the ABCMR. Hearings may be authorized by a panel of the ABCMR or by the Director of the ABCMR. 8. The DD Form 214 is a summary of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of all current active, prior active, and prior inactive duty service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. The information entered thereon reflects the conditions as they existed at the time of separation. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board determined that it could reach a fair and equitable decision in the case without a personal appearance by the applicant. The Board also found partial relief was warranted. Based upon the negative connotation of the current narrative reason, in the Board’s opinion, the Board recommended that the narrative reason should be changed Secretarial Authority and the separation code changed to JFF. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF X X X GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION ? BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending the applicant’s DD Form 214 by changing the narrative reason for separation to “Secretarial Authority” and the separation code to “JFF”. 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to changing the narrative reason to retirement. 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. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 135-180 (Army National Guard and Army Reserve-Retirement for Non-Regular Service) chapter 2-5 dated 28 May 2015 states that any period of service as a member of a regular component between the periods of Reserve service counted toward 8 or 6 year requirement will be included in the determination of the Soldier’s years of qualifying service in paragraph 2-2 toward eligibility for non- regular retired pay, but will not count toward the last 8 or 6 years. Any Reserve service served in conjunction with regular service will not count toward the last 8 or 6 years (that is, partial year credit). 3. AR 15-185, (ABCMR) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR. The ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity, which is that what the Army did was correct. a. The ABCMR is not an investigative body and decides cases based on the evidence that is presented in the military records provided and the independent evidence submitted with the application. The application has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. b. The ABCMR may, in its discretion, hold a hearing a request additional evidence or opinions. Additionally, it states in paragraph 2-11 that applicant’s do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR. The Director of the ABCMR may grant a formal hearing whenever justice requires. NOTHING FOLLOWS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170001958 4 1