BOARD DATE: 17 May 2012 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110023128 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 his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) be corrected to show in blocks 7a and 7b that he entered active duty in Arlington, Texas and that his Home of Record (HOR) is Arlington, Texas. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that his records incorrectly reflect that he entered active duty in Leesville, Louisiana and his HOR was Leesville, Louisiana when in fact he has always been a resident of Texas. He goes on to state that he discovered the error when he applied for education benefits under the Hazelwood Act in the state of Texas. He also states that it was always his parents intent that he be a resident of Texas, which is why they deeded property in Texas to him. 3. The applicant provides a one-page letter which contains a list of supporting documents submitted with his application. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. 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. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant graduated as a distinguished military graduate from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 3 August 1973 with a concurrent call to active duty. His first duty station was Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 3. At the time of his application for appointment and at the time he entered active duty he indicated that his permanent address and HOR was an address in Leesville, Louisiana (his parents’ address). 4. He remained on continuous active duty and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 1 February 1991. 5. On 31 January 1996 he was retired at Fort Hood, Texas and was transferred to the Retired List effective 1 February 1996. His DD Form 214 issued at the time of his retirement shows that his place of entry was Leesville, Louisiana and his HOR was Leesville, Louisiana. It also reflects that his nearest relative was his mother at the same address in Leesville he used as his HOR when he entered active duty in 1973. 6. A review of his official records shows that Leesville, Louisiana was the only HOR entered in his records throughout his entire career. 7. Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) Volume I (Uniformed Service Members) provides in Appendix A, that the HOR is the place recorded as the home of the individual when commissioned, appointed, enlisted, inducted, or ordered into a tour of active duty. Only if a break in service exceeds one full day may the member change the HOR. However, a HOR may be changed in those instances where a member can show that through a bona fide error, the place originally named at time of current entry into the service was not in fact the actual home. Any such correction must be fully justified and the home, as corrected, must be the actual home of the member upon entering the service, and not a different place selected for the member’s convenience. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant’s contention that his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show that he entered active duty in Arlington, Texas and that his HOR was Arlington, Texas has been noted and found to lack any merit. 2. The fact that an individual acquires property in a State does not necessarily imply that it is a person’s HOR and it certainly does not automatically imply that it is a person’s residence. 3. In the applicant’s case he was educated in the State of Louisiana where his parents resided, he accepted his commission in the Army in Louisiana, and he entered active duty from the State of Louisiana and served until he retired. His records properly reflected that he entered active duty in Leesville, Louisiana and his HOR was Leesville, Louisiana. Accordingly, there is no error or injustice in this case. 4. While the reasons for the applicant’s request have been considered, records that are not in error are not changed simply to qualify individuals for benefits that they otherwise would not be entitled to receive. 5. Accordingly, there is no basis to grant the applicant’s request to change his HOR or the place of entry on active duty. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x__ ____x____ ___x_____ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. ______ _ 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) AR20110023128 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110023128 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1