IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 31 January 2022 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20210006710 APPLICANT REQUESTS: in effect, correction of her retirement points for the year 2000. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Class Transcripts/Records * Certificate of Completion * Exception To Policy (ETP) memorandum * four DA Forms 1380 (Army Reserve – Record of Individual Performance of Reserve Duty Training) * email correspondence * DA Form 5016 (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points) FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three-year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code, 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 at the time in 2000, she was brand new to the Army, and originally assigned to a unit in, that no longer exists. Once she was assigned to the 921st Command Support Hospital, she was not instructed to submit DA Forms 1380 for Continuing Education hours for the General Practice (GP) Orthodontics class she was enrolled in and later completed. Specifically, she should have been awarded 7 retirement points for the Continuing Education hours completed per the attached two DD Forms 1380. Although, she is entitled to 7 points, she is in need of 1 point to bring her to 50 points for the year from 12 April 2000 to 11 April 2001. This will give her the points needed to be able to retire before her Mandatory Removal Date (MRD) of 31 July 2021. There was an attempt to correct this through her chain of command with her commander’s endorsement and approval. She was redirected to the Army Review’s Boards Agency, by the Supervisor, Life Cycle Management Team. 3. The applicant provides her: a. Class Transcripts/Records, showing she attended Hands-On Session Course classes on: * 17 July 1998, 18 and 19 September and 13 and 14 November 1998 * 15 January, 19 and 20 March, 18 and 19 June, 17 September, 19 and 20 November 1999 * 17 and 18 March, 21 July, 15 and 16 September, 14 and 15 October 2000 b. Certificate of Completion, dated 14 October 2000, showing she had successfully completed a Twelve-Session Hands-On Course in Orthodontics. c. ETP Memorandum, dated 1 February 2021, wherein her commander stated, the applicant was requesting an ETP for the time requirement to submit a DA Form 1380 for points only. She was one point shy of a good year for the year 2000. She completed an arduous two-year dental course that year and did not turn in the DA Forms 1380 for points. She was his number one platoon leader. She was hard-working and took great care of her Soldiers. It was obvious that she made sure her Soldiers were cared for before herself. He approved the request and asked the maximum time be allowed for prior DA Form 1380 submissions. d. Four DA Forms 1380, dated 23 March 2021, showing she completed 12 Session Hands-On Courses on 21 and 22 July, 15 and 16 September, and 14 and 15 October 2000. e. Email correspondence, dated 3 March 2021, wherein the Supervisor, Life Cycle Management Team, advised the applicant’s commander they received the request for the applicant attending the Academy. She was being referred to ARBA due to the documents were over 20 years old and not submitted to the U. S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 140-185 (Army Reserve – Training and Retirement Points Credits and Unit Level Strength Accounting Records), paragraph 3-3. She was required to provide this email with her your inquiry to ARBA. f. DA Form 5016, dated 4 March 2021, showing she earned zero qualifying years and 49 creditable retirement points, for the period from 12 April 2000 to 11 April 2001. 4. Review of the applicant’s service record shows: a. She was appointed in the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR), as a captain, on 11 April 2000, in primary specialty 63A (General Dentist). b. She was ordered to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and entered on 31 December 2008. She served in Iraq from 10 January to 19 April 2009. She was honorably released from active duty on 4 May 2009 and was transferred to a Reserve unit. Her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) shows she completed 4 months and 4 days of net active service, including 3 months and 10 days of foreign service. (It is note on 30 July 2009, the ABCMR determined her DD Form 214 should be corrected to show her service in Iraq and she was issued a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), dated 14 October 2009, for this purpose.) c. She was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 12 August 2011. d. Her two DA Forms 1380, dated 10 April 2015 and 23 March 2016, show she performed training on 7, 9, and 10 April 2015 and 19 and 22 March 2016. e. A Retention Beyond MRD memorandum, dated 31 July 2017, advised the applicant’s commander that the applicant’s request for retention beyond MRD was approved through 1 July 2019. The memorandum enclosed Orders Number B—08- 790054, published by HRC on 2 August 2017, announcing her retention in an active status until 31 July 2019. f. Orders Number 20-066-00062, published by Headquarters, 63rd Readiness Division, Mountain View, CA on 6 March 2020, announced her reassignment in the Reserve Components, effective the same date. g. Her DA Form 5016 (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points), dated 5 March 2021, shows the following: * she served in a commissioned status in the USAR from 12 April 2000 to 11 April 2020 * she was credited with zero qualifying service for retirement and 49 creditable retirement points, for the period from 12 April 2000 to 11 April 2001; 1 point short necessary of earning the minimum 50 points necessary to be credited with a qualifying year * she was credited with 18 years of qualifying service for retirement h. In a Retention in an Active Status to Complete 20 Qualifying Years of Service for Non-Regular Retirement memorandum, dated 14 July 2021, she was advised of the following: (1) Title 10, USC, section 12646 (Commissioned Officers: Retention of after completing 18 or more, but less than 20 years of service), stated when an officer had more than 18, but less than 20 qualifying years of service, he/she could not be discharged or transferred from an active status without consent before the earlier of the following dates: * the date on which the officer was to be credited with 20 qualifying years of service * when having more than 18, but less than 19 years of qualifying service, the officer could not be discharged until the third anniversary of the date on which removal would otherwise occur * when having more than 19, but less than 20 years of qualifying service, the officer could not be discharged until the second anniversary of the date on which removal would otherwise occur (2) As of 11 April 2021, her record indicated she had 19 qualifying years of service for a non-regular retirement at age 60. As such, her removal was dictated by her having more than 19, but less than 20 years of qualifying service and she could not be discharged until the second anniversary of the date on which removal would otherwise occur. Upon obtaining 20 qualifying years of service, within the authorized period of retention, she was required to be removed from active status by reassignment to the Retired Reserve Control Group or discharged. Should she fail to obtain her necessary qualifying years of service within the authorized period of retention, she would be reassigned to the Retired Reserve by 11 April 2023, unless retained under another provision of law. (3) It was her responsibility to notify her chain of command and this Headquarters on the date she completed 20 qualifying years of service. That policy did not apply to officers transferred or discharged for: * Physical disability * Cause * Reaching the maximum age at which transfer to the Retired Reserve or discharge is required by law. i. Her record is void of any indication she contacted the USAR Personnel Center, St. Louis, MO, for correction of her 2000 retirement points and/or DA Form 5016. 5. By regulation AR 140-185, the DA Form 5016 provides a permanent record of the total retirement points Soldiers earn during an anniversary year and is issued annually. 6. Department of Defense Instruction 1215.7 (Service Credit for Reserve Retirement), a qualifying year of creditable service toward a non-regular retirement is a full-year during which a member of an Active Component or Reserve Component is credited with at least 50 retirement points. 7. The ABCMR limits corrective action to documents that can be individually reviewed after a Soldier's separation. 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 applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. As such, there is normally no basis for correcting documents without sufficient evidence. BOARD DISCUSSION: After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence found within the military record, the Board found that relief was warranted. The applicant’s contentions, the military record, and regulatory guidance were carefully considered. Based on the preponderance of the evidence, the Board determined that the applicant earned the minimum number of qualifying points during the period in question to be credited with a qualifying year. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 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 showing she submitted properly constituted DA Forms for the year 2000, in a timely manner, to the appropriate HRC office for service credit consideration. X 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, United States 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. 2. Army Regulation (AR) 140-185 (Army Reserve – Training and Retirement Points Credits and Unit Level Strength Accounting Records), contains Army policy for U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) training and retirement point credit. It also prescribes guidance for USAR unit level strength accounting. The regulation states in: a. Paragraph 1-7 (Service requirement for a satisfactory year of service for non- regular retirement) – a qualifying year of service for non-regular retired pay is a full year during which a Reserve Component member is credited with a minimum of 50 retirement points. Except as otherwise provided by law, an accumulation of 20 such years is one requirement necessary to qualify for non-regular retired pay. b. Paragraph 2-1 (Criteria for crediting retirement points) – the limitations on the number of points that may be credited to a Soldier during an anniversary year are: * Maximum—365 (366 during leap year) points * No more than one retirement point may be awarded for any day in which the Soldier is on active duty; a Soldier in active service may not receive retirement points for other activities performed concurrently * Retirement points credited for activities other than active service or funeral honors duty may not exceed * For any anniversary years closing before 23 September 1996: 60 retirement points * For anniversary years closing on or after 23 September 1996 but before 30 October 2000: 75 retirement points * For anniversary years closing on or after 30 October 2000, but before 30 October 2007: 90 retirement points * For anniversary years closing on or after 30 October 2007: 130 retirement points * A maximum of two retirement points may be awarded in 1 calendar day for any activity or combination of activities * Inactive duty training (IDT) will be either 4 hours in length for one retirement point or 8 hours in length for two retirement points, with the exception of the 2-hour IDT funeral honors duty c. Paragraph 3–5 (DA Form 5016 (Chronological Statement of Retirements Points), these statements: * Provide a permanent record of the total retirement points Soldiers earn during an anniversary year * Inform Soldiers whether they earned sufficient points for a qualifying year for retirement or retention in an active status * Provide Soldiers an opportunity to review their retirement points to request corrections * Prepared by the U. S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) from the processing of data furnished manually and utilizing automation * Prepared for Soldiers under HRC command to include obligated enlisted Soldiers who have earned at least one retirement point * Prepared to cover a full anniversary year of active duty training or active duty * Prepared for all Soldiers regardless of the number of points awarded * Issued annually and upon correction to a record 3. Department of Defense Instruction 1215.7 (Service Credit for Reserve Retirement), paragraph 3.1, states a qualifying year of creditable service toward a non-regular retirement is a full-year, as described in Paragraphs 3.1.b. and 3.1.c., during which a member of an Active Component or Reserve Component is credited with at least 50 retirement points. Accumulating 20 such years, except as otherwise provided by law, is one requirement necessary to qualify for non-regular retired pay. 4. AR 15-185 (ABCMR), the ABCMR limits corrective action to documents that can be individually reviewed after a Soldier's separation. 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 applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. As such, there is normally no basis for correcting documents without sufficient evidence. //NOTHING FOLLOWS//