PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           12 December 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002077888

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Nancy L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher		Member	
	Mr. Bernard P. Ingold		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that her records be corrected to show she retired in the rank of Captain and that she be paid all due back retired pay as a result of this correction.

3.  The applicant states that she requested a correction to her commissioning date prior to her retirement; however, the Board's action was not completed until after she retired.  As a result, she was retired as a Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3).  With the waiver that was available at the time, she qualified with over     8 years service as a commissioned officer for retirement as a Captain.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that, after having had prior enlisted service, she was appointed a warrant officer as a Physicians Assistant (PA) and entered active duty as a Warrant Officer One (WO1) on 17 June 1981.

5.  On 10 June 1987, the applicant executed an Oath of Office - Military Personnel, DA Form 71, appointing her as a Reserve Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2).  The intent of this oath was to appoint her as a commissioned warrant officer.  Because the DA Form 71 did not have a block for commissioned warrant officer that could be checked, an inadvertent error was made when the wrong appointment block was checked.  This error was corrected by the Board on       22 May 1996 (docket number AC95-07458) to show she was appointed a commissioned warrant officer on 10 June 1987.

6.  The applicant was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3).  On       24 April 1989, she accepted appointment in the Regular Army as a CW3.  That DA Form 71 did not show that she accepted a commission in the Regular Army as a CW3.  This error was also corrected by the 22 May 1996 Board.

7.  On 4 February 1992, the applicant was offered and accepted a commission as a Captain based on changes in the PA Program.

8.  On 1 December 1995, the applicant retired.  She was placed on the Retired List in the rank of CW3.  Because her commissioned service was computed from her 4 February 1992 commission as a Captain, she did not have sufficient active commissioned service to retire as a Captain.

9.  On 22 May 1996, the Board took action to correct the applicant's original commissioning date to be 10 June 1987.  Thus, she would have had over 8 years of active commissioned service as of her retirement date.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, paragraph     6-13 states that PAs who are members of the transition PA force, who have      10 years (8 years if waived) active Federal commissioned service, and who request voluntary retirement may elect to be retired at the highest commissioned officer grade held.  The transition PA force consists of those Army warrant officer PAs who were on active duty on 5 December 1991.  During the period 1 October 1990 through 30 September 1999, the active commissioned service may be waived to 8 years with Secretary of the Army approval.  Commissioned warrant officer active service will be applied toward the 10 years of total active commissioned service (8 years if waived) for retirement.  Transition force PAs who cannot meet the 10 years active commissioned service (8 years if waived) requirement will be placed on the retirement list at the highest warrant officer grade in which the officer served on active duty satisfactorily for more than        30 days.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  After the applicant retired, the Board corrected the applicant's Oath of Office - Military Personnel to show she was appointed a Reserve commissioned warrant officer as of 10 June 1987.  

2.  As a member of the transition PA force (she was on active duty as a PA on     5 December 1991), her commissioned warrant officer active service could be applied toward the 10 years of total active commissioned service (8 years if waived) for retirement.  As she retired in 1995 during the drawdown period, it is reasonable to believe that a waiver would have been approved to allow her to retire as a Captain with 8 years of active commissioned service.

3.  It would be equitable to correct the applicant's records to show she retired in the rank of Captain and that she be paid all due back retired pay.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the applicant was placed on the Retired List on            1 December 1995 in the rank of Captain.

2.  That the applicant be paid any and all due back retired pay as a result of this correction.

BOARD VOTE:  

__RWA__  __KYF___  __BPI__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Roger W. Able__
		    CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002077888	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2002/12/12	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	PARTIAL GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.