PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            22 April 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002079726

	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	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Ms. Mae M. Bullock		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 his discharge from the USAR be voided and that he instead be transferred to the Retired Reserve.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was unjustly discharged without an opportunity to request transfer to the Retired Reserve.  He goes on to state his discharge orders contained an outdated address from 1996, when in fact the Army Reserve Personnel Command (ARPERSCOM) had a more recent address in which they published his promotion orders in 1998; therefore it was not a matter of his not keeping his address current.  

4.  The applicant’s military records show that in 1996, while serving on active duty as a United States Army Reserve (USAR) major in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, the applicant was released from active duty at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was transferred to the 432d Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

5.  On 19 June 1998, orders were published by the ARPERSCOM, which promoted the applicant to the rank of lieutenant colonel.  The address on those orders is a military address in Croatia.

6.  On 29 July 1998, the ARPERSCOM notified the applicant (20-year letter) that he had completed the required years of service to be eligible for Retired pay at age 60 (23 March 2014).

7.  On 21 July 1999, orders were published by the ARPERSCOM, which discharged the applicant from the USAR effective 26 July 1999.  The address on those orders is the 432d CA, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

8.  Army Regulation 140-10, in effect at the time, set forth the basic authority for the assignment, attachment, detail, and transfer of USAR soldiers.  Chapter 7 of that regulation relates to the removal of soldiers from active status and states, in pertinent part, that soldiers removed from an active status will be discharged or, if qualified and if they so request, will be transferred to the Retired Reserve. 

9.  Army Regulation 135-178, in effect at the time, established the policies, standards, and procedures governing the administrative procedures governing the administrative separation of enlisted soldiers from the Reserve Components. Paragraph 1-3 states, in pertinent part, that orders discharging a soldier would not be revoked or the effective date changed after the effective date of discharge unless there was a manifest error or fraud.  After the effective date of discharge, orders could not be amended by the separation authority only to correct manifest errors such as the wrong character of service or correct administrative errors such as errors concerning rank, social security number, or misspelled name.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be presumed that the applicant’s discharge was accomplished in accordance with law and regulations applicable at the time.  

2.  However, it appears that he was not afforded the opportunity to be transferred to the Retired Reserve because an administrative error resulted in an old address being used on his discharge orders.  It is also reasonable to presume that given his qualifying years of creditable service for retired pay purposes, had he been afforded the opportunity prior to discharge, he would have elected to be transferred to the Retired Reserve.

3.  Inasmuch as the applicant meets eligibility requirements for assignment to the Retired Reserve, it would be equitable and just to correct his military records by voiding his discharge of 26 July 1999 and assigning him to the Retired Reserve effective the same date.

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

RECOMMENDATION:  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by voiding the 26 July 1999 discharge from the USAR of the individual concerned; and by showing that he was transferred to the Retired Reserve effective 26 July 1999.

BOARD VOTE:  

__mm___  __mb ___  __clg____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Melvin H. Meyer_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002079726	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2003/04/22	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  189	110.0000/VOID DISCH	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.