IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 18 February 2010 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090013642 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that he be granted service credit for his participation in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) and that his pay entry basic date (PEBD) be adjusted accordingly. 2. The applicant states that the 1997 DOD Authorization Act enacted on 23 September 1996 allowed his PEBD to be corrected for active or retired pay. 3. The applicant provides the following documents in support of his application: discharge orders, dated 9 May 1988; a DA Form 597 (Army Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Student Contract); and a National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service). CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. At the time of his application, the applicant was serving on active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Reserve lieutenant colonel. 2. The applicant served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 24 August 1981 through 19 July 1982 (10 months and 26 days). 3. The applicant served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 20 July 1982 through 19 July 1985 (3 years). 4. The applicant served in the U.S. Navy Reserve again from 20 July 1985 through 1 September 1986 (1 year, 1 month, and 12 days). 5. On 2 September 1986, the applicant enlisted in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG). 6. Item 38 (Record of Assignments) of his DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record - Part II) shows the entry "Decon Plt Leader (SMP)." A DA Form 4824 (Simultaneous Membership Agreement) is not available. 7. The applicant's NGB Form 22 confirms he was discharged from the PAARNG on 27 December 1987 and was credited with 1 year, 3 months, and 26 days of service in the SMP. 8. On 28 December 1987, the applicant was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (ROTC) as a cadet. He was discharged from the USAR ROTC program on 18 May 1988 to accept a commission (4 months and 21 days). 9. The applicant was appointed as a commissioned officer on 19 May 1988 in the rank of second lieutenant. 10. The applicant's Officer Record Brief and Chronological Statement of Retirement Points show his PEBD as 12 May 1983. 11. The ROTC SMP is a voluntary officer training program designed to increase the number of ROTC officers available for Reserve Forces duty. Subject to limitations, it permits an ROTC cadet to train in the ROTC Advanced Course while simultaneously participating as an officer-trainee in paid training assemblies with a USAR troop program unit (TPU). To be eligible for ROTC SMP participation, a cadet must be enrolled in the ROTC Advanced Course nonscholarship program, be assigned to a verified officer-trainee position in a TPU, meet the Army body composition/weight control standards, and agree to volunteer for commissioning under the provisions of the ROTC Early Commissioning Program on successful completion of the ROTC Advanced Course. 12. The DOD Financial Management Regulation (DODFMR), volume 7A, subparagraph 010101.A.1, states that the several military pay and personnel systems use a variety of dates to determine various entitlements. Among them is the date that denotes how much service a member has for the purpose of determining longevity pay rates. The Army refers to this as the "pay entry basic date." This paragraph refers to this data element as the "basic pay date" which is defined as reflecting all service that is creditable towards longevity. 13. The DODFMR, volume 7A, subparagraph 010101.B, states that for most members who enter and serve on active duty without a break in service, the basic pay date is the date the member enters active or inactive status. If, however, there is a break in service, then the time between periods of service usually is not included. Also, there are statutory periods when service in a particular component may not be counted. Conversely, there are periods for which some members are given constructive service, even though they were not actually serving on active or inactive duty. 14. The DODFMR, volume 7A, subparagraph 010101.D.10, states that service as a member of the Army, Navy, or Air Force ROTC, provided the member has concurrent Selected Reserve (drilling status) for duty performed on or after 1 August 1979, is creditable service. 15. The DODFMR, volume 7A, subparagraph 010101.D.14, states that prior provisions of law excluded the SMP from creditable service for commissioned officers effective 13 October 1964. Public Law 104-201, section 507, enacted 23 September 1996, amended these provisions to provide service credit retroactive to 1 August 1979. These amendments, as referenced in subparagraph 010101.D.10, resulted in no increase in pay, retired pay, or retainer pay before the date of enactment on 23 September 1996. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant's original PEBD would have been established as 24 August 1981 when he initially enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve. The period between 2 September 1986 and 18 May 1988 constituted a break in service and as such, when the applicant was commissioned on 19 May 1988 following completion of ROTC, his PEBD was recalculated and established as 12 May 1983 to account for the break in service between 1986 and 1988. 2. Although the applicant's DA Form 4824 is not available to the Board, the entry in item 38 of his DA Form 2-1 indicating his membership in the PAARNG under the SMP is confirmed by information contained in his 1987 NGB Form 22. 3. As of 23 September 1996, the DODFMR provided that membership in the SMP is creditable for computation of the PEBD. As such, the applicant would then have had continuous service from his initial enlistment in the U.S. Navy Reserve on 24 August 1981 and his discharge from the PAARNG SMP on 27 December 1987. Only the applicant's 4 months and 21 days while in the USAR Control Group (ROTC) constitutes a break in service for PEBD computation. The applicant's original PEBD (24 August 1981) should be recomputed to include his service in the SMP. 4. Based on the applicant's 4 months and 21 days of noncreditable service in the USAR Control Group (ROTC), the applicant's PEBD should be adjusted to reflect 15 January 1982. Although the applicant is entitled to recomputation of his PEBD to include his period of service in the SMP, retroactive pay associated with the recomputed PEBD is limited to not earlier than 23 September 1996 under DODFMR, volume 7A, subparagraph 010101.D.14, and Public Law 10-201. BOARD VOTE: ___X___ ___X____ ___X____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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: a. adjusting his PEBD to reflect 15 January 1982 and b. paying him any pay and allowances retroactive to 23 September 1996 due as a result of recomputation of his PEBD to 15 January 1982. _______ _ X_____ ___ CHAIRPERSON 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. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090013642 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090013642 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1