PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            19 AUGUST 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002082236

	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. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 attendance at BNCOC (Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course) be reinstated and that her promotion to pay grade E-6 be restored.  She states, in effect, that she was released from BNCOC after failing the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT).  However, she contends the failure was due to severe tendonitis.  She states that when she submitted a request for reinstatement to BNCOC her request was denied, but incorrectly noted that the denial was for reinstatement to ANCOC (Advance Noncommissioned Officer Course).  In support of her request she submits copies of her request to be reinstated to BNCOC and to retain her rank of staff sergeant (E-6), which she originally submitted, via her chain of command, to officials at the United States Army Reserve Personnel Command.  

3.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant initially enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in August 1991.  In April 1999 she executed a 4 year reenlistment contract, and in November 1999 she was promoted to pay grade E-5.

4.  On 1 February 2002 the applicant was promoted to pay grade E-6.  Army Regulation 140-158 establishes the policies and provisions for the promotion of United States Army Reserve soldiers and attendance at NCO (noncommissioned officer) education courses, including BNCOC.  It states that a soldier conditionally promoted to pay grade E-6 must be enrolled in and graduate from BNCOC, or be subject to reduction.  Although copies of the orders promoting her to pay grade E-6 were not in records available to the Board, it is probable that her promotion was conditional, and that while she was permitted to wear the rank and receive pay at that grade, retention of the promotion required completion of BNCOC.

5.  On 3 July 2002 the applicant commenced BNCOC at Fort Lee, Virginia.  An Army Physical Fitness Test Scorecard indicates that she failed the push-up portion of the APFT the day she arrived at Fort Lee.  The scorecard notes that she achieved a score of 58 for completing 15 push-ups.  To achieve a score of 60, which was required to pass the event, she would have needed to complete 17 push-ups.  On 16 July 2002 she was administered a second test and again failed the push-up portion of the test with a score identical to the score achieved on 3 July 2002.  As a result of the second failure, the applicant was relieved from the course effective 17 July 2002.

6.  A medical statement submitted in support of her petition to be reinstated to BNCOC indicates that on 17 July 2002 she was seen by medical personnel at Kenner Army Hospital at Fort Lee with a complaint of neck and shoulder pain.  She related to the examining physician that she had been moving furniture and trunks prior to attending BNCOC and believes she pulled a muscle that contributed to her failure of the push-up event of the APFT.  The examining physician concluded that she was suffering from musculoskeletal sprain and prescribed medication and approximately 24 hours of quarters.
7.  A 22 July 2002 statement from the applicant’s civilian health professional indicated that she had seen the applicant on 19 July 2002 for “severe tendonitis” of the right shoulder. 

8.  On 19 July 2002 the applicant initiated a request to be reinstated to BNCOC.  In her request she noted that “due to a sudden injury one day prior to leaving for BNCOC [she] was unable to pass [the] APFT.”  She indicated that although she was in pain she wanted to fulfill her “duties and desire” to complete BNCOC.  She stated that after failing the first test she was “contemplating [not] taking [a] second APFT because [her] right shoulder was in pain.”  After failing the second test she knew the pain in her shoulder could have contributed to her inability to pass the push-up portion of the APFT.  She stated that she had passed the APFT just two weeks prior to attending BNCOC.  Members of her chain of command supported the applicant in her request for reinstatement.  

9.  The 19 November 2002 statement of support from the applicant’s command sergeant major also requested that the applicant be allowed to retain her staff sergeant rank.

10.  An undated memorandum from the Full Time Support Management Directorate at the United States Army Reserve Personnel Command indicates that the applicant’s petition for reinstatement was denied.  The memorandum states that the “Reinstatement Panel reviewed your request for reinstatement of ANCOC and to the promotion list” and that any further requests to appeal the decisions rendered by the Reinstatement Panel must be forwarded to the Army Review Boards Agency.

11.  In the applicant’s petition to this Board, she noted that when she inquired about the discrepancy between her request for reinstatement to BNCOC and the Reinstatement Panel’s denial for reinstatement to ANCOC, she was told that once a packet was reviewed and denied, further reviews were sent to the Army Review Boards Agency.  Attempts by a member of the Board’s staff, to telephonically contact an official from the Full Time Support Management Directorate to clarify that policy, were not successful.

12.  When the applicant submitted her application to the Board in November 2002 she indicated her pay grade as E-6.  However, by May 2003 when she took another APFT at her local unit, her pay grade was recorded as E-5.  There were no documents in records available to the Board, which confirmed when the applicant’s conditional promotion to pay grade E-6 was revoked as a result of her failure to complete BNCOC.

13.  An Army Physical Fitness Test Scorecard, submitted by the applicant in support of her request indicates that she passed the push-up portion of the APFT in April 2002 (21 push-ups equaling 65 points), in June 2002 (30 push-ups equaling 76 points), in September 2002 (25 push-ups equaling 70 points), in November 2002 (29 push-ups equaling 75 points), and in May 2003 (26 push-ups equaling 71 points).

14.  The applicant’s three performance evaluation reports (9911-0010, 0011-0110, and 0112-0203), contained in her file, note that the applicant is physically fit and an “inspiration to others by keeping fit and healthy.”

15.  TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) Regulation 350-10 prescribes the institutional training and education policies for officer, warrant officer, and noncommissioned officer leader development, including BNCOC.  In pertinent part, it states that without exception, students must pass the APFT prior to the end of the course to graduate.  Attendees will be administered the standard APFT within the first 72 hours of enrollment.  Those who fail this initial test will be given one retest to be administered sometime between academic day 7 and 14.  In all cases, soldiers who fail the APFT retest will be dropped/dismissed from the course for failure to meet APFT standards.  Soldiers failing the initial APFT and found medically unqualified to retest within the required period of time will receive a medical dismissal, returned to their unit, and allowed to be rescheduled to attend another class when medically capable.  Students with temporary profiles that prohibit full participation in the completion of the course requirements will be denied enrollment.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms that the applicant passed the APFT at her home station prior to attending BNCOC and following her release from the course.  The evidence indicates that a medical officer confirmed, on the day following her release from BNCOC, that she was suffering from musculoskeletal sprain and that her civilian health care professional treated her for tendonitis following her return to her home station.  While the applicant clearly bears some responsibility for not raising the issue of her painful shoulder prior to her attendance, and certainly after her failure of the first APFT, the Board does conclude that her medical condition may have contributed to the failure of the push-up portion of her APFT while at BNCOC.  The fact that the applicant passed the APFT prior to, and after her release from BNCOC while at her home station tends to support this conclusion.

2.  Because the applicant’s failure of the APFT was likely due to her medical condition and not because of a systemic problem with her physical fitness level, the Board concludes that it would be in the interest of justice and equity to permit her to be reenrolled in BNCOC as soon as possible in accordance with the provisions of Army Regulation 140-158, provided she is otherwise eligible.

3.  However, because the applicant does bear some responsibility for her inability to pass the APFT as a result of a medical condition, which she did not surface until after her failure of the APFT retest, the Board concludes that it would be inappropriate to reinstate the applicant’s conditional promotion to pay grade E-6 at this time.  Rather, the Board concludes that the applicant’s promotion to pay grade E-6 should be held in abeyance until after she completes BNCOC and upon successful completion promoted with an effective date and date of rank consistent with the date of her completion of BNCOC.

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:

a.  by scheduling the applicant for attendance at BNCOC in accordance with Army Regulation 140-158; and 

b.  by promoting her to pay grade E-6 with an effective date and date of rank consistent with her completion of BNCOC.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__FNE __  __MVT __  __JTM __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Fred N. Eichorn______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002082236	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030819	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	110.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.