IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 3 April 2012 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120001106 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, in effect, an adjustment of his date of rank (DOR) to first lieutenant (1LT). 2. The applicant states: * he had prior enlisted service in the Army National Guard (ARNG) * he was appointed a second lieutenant (2LT) in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 20 November 2007 * he was not slotted to attend his Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) until 16 March 2009 and given a class date of 21 August 2010 * he deployed to Iraq as a Department of the Army Civilian (DAC) * he attended BOLC from 21 March through 20 July 2011 * he was promoted to 1LT on 20 July 2011 3. The applicant further states: * promotion from 2LT to 1LT should occur at 18 months conditioned upon completion of BOLC * he should have been promoted on 20 May 2009; but he was not sent to BOLC * his DAC duties contributed to his inability to attend BOLC 4. The applicant provides: * a 3-page memorandum written to the Board * a memorandum from the Commander, U.S. Army Foreign Counterintelligence Activity, Fort Meade, MD * 1LT promotion orders * DA Form 71 (Oath of Office) * 3 DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) * college diploma * Defense Language Institute Diploma * 12 pages of electronic mail * 3 Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reports * a 10-page Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System Performance Evaluation * 4 DA Forms 7222 (Senior System Civilian Evaluation Report) * DD Form 2799 (Employee Performance Plan and Results Report) * DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) * memorandum, dated 29 July 2011, awarding area of concentration 35E (Counterintelligence Officer) * 6 certificates of training * DA Form 1059 for the Primary Leadership Development Course * Total Army Training System Counterintelligence Agent Course Diploma * 4 awards certificates CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. With prior ARNG enlisted service, he was assigned to the USAR Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) by U.S. Army Human Resources Command (AHRC) orders, dated 21 May 2008 with an effective date of 19 November 2007. The applicant was appointed as a USAR 2LT Military Intelligence (MI), on 20 November 2007. 2. On 23 June 2008, AHRC sent the applicant a letter and an AHRC Form 4145 (Election of Options – Military Service Obligation) requesting he make a military service obligation (MSO) election. The following sequence of events then occurred: * the applicant failed to respond to the MSO request * AHRC sent a second request (letter) on 22 September 2008 * AHRC issued orders on 6 November 2008 releasing the applicant from the IRR and assigning him to the Standby Reserve (Inactive List) pending discharge in 1 year because of his failure to provide an MSO election * the applicant completed and forwarded AHRC Form 4145 electing to remain in the IRR * AHRC received the MSO election on 24 December 2008 * on 6 January 2009, AHRC revoked the order transferring the applicant to the Standby Reserve (Inactive List) pending discharge * on 6 February 2009, AHRC reissued orders transferring the applicant to the Standby Reserve (Inactive List) pending discharge * on 10 February 2010, AHRC issued orders honorably discharging the applicant * in April 2010, the U.S. Army Reserve Command requested action to slot the applicant into BOLC * AHRC voided his discharge and revoked his assignment to the Standby Reserve * in May 2010, AHRC again issued orders transferring the applicant to the Standby Reserve (Inactive List), but quickly revoked the orders 3. This sequence of events is reflected in the applicant's file on the Integrated Web Services (IWS). 4. The applicant attended and successfully completed the MI BOLC from 31 March through 20 July 2011. He was promoted to 1LT on 20 July 2011 upon meeting the educational requirement for that promotion. 5. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Officer Promotions Branch, AHRC, Fort Knox. KY. It states that the applicant’s DOR as a 1LT is correct. The basis for his DOR is established in Army Regulation 135-155 which requires completion of Officer the Basic Course (OBC) education for promotion to 1LT. The applicant completed his MI BOLC on 20 July 2011 and this is his DOR as a 1LT. The opinion stated: a. His initial promotion eligibility date (PED) to 1LT was 20 November 2009, 24 months from his initial appointment date. However, on 19 August 2008, this was changed to 18 months from the initial appointment date with completion of the appropriate OBC. The applicant's PED therefore was 20 May 2009. b. There is no basis for granting the requested relief. In effect, the applicant failed to complete his MSO election in a timely fashion and this generated changes in his Reserve status. 6. The applicant was provided an opportunity to respond to the advisory opinion and did so. In a memorandum, dated 8 March 2012, he stated he was not afforded the opportunity to complete MI BOLC in a timely fashion because: * AHRC changed his Reserve status * his Reserve status changes were made involuntarily and without his knowledge * AHRC erroneously discharged him from the USAR * AHRC notified him of his MI BOLC class date on 16 March 2009 * his PED to 1LT was 20 March 2009 (sic – actually 20 May 2009) * although he did not complete the MI BOLC until 20 July 2011, he has long had the necessary leadership skills to perform as a 1LT and CPT 7. The applicant requests that the Board dismiss the advisory opinion and grant his request. 8. Reserve component personnel are assigned to one of three categories: the Ready Reserve, the Standby Reserve, or the Retired Reserve. The Ready Reserve consists of the Selected Reserve and the IRR. The IRR provides a pool of skilled and experienced Soldiers as individual replacements. IRR members are principally comprised of trained individuals who previously served in the Active component or Selected Reserve and have some period of their military service obligation remaining. These Reservists will augment and fill Active Army and Army Reserve units during mobilization. The IRR has a number of control groups such as the USAR Control Group (Annual Training), consisting of non-unit members with less than 3 years of Active component duty who have a military service obligation to complete. The USAR Control Group (Reinforcement) is comprised of non-unit members with over 3 years of Active component duty with no training requirements. Both control groups are liable for mobilization and limited involuntary active duty for training. They may train voluntarily for retirement points and promotion, with or without pay. 9. Army Regulation 140-10 (Assignments, Attachments, Details, and Transfers) provides for Army Reserve assignment, attachments, details and transfers. Section 4-26 identifies the conditions under which a Soldier is released from assignment to an IRR control group. It states that such a release is a result of a Soldier's voluntary or involuntary reassignment to the Selected, Standby, or Retired Reserve, or separation from the USAR. Soldiers on the Inactive Status List may not train for pay or retirement point and are not eligible for promotion. 10. Army Regulation 135-155 ARNG and USAR (Promotion of Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers (WO) Other Than General Officers) prescribes policy and procedures used for selecting and promoting commissioned officers (other than commissioned WOs) of the ARNG of the United States (ARNGUS) and of commissioned and WO of the USAR. It provides that officers must have completed the Resident OBC as a prerequisite for promotion to 1LT. 11. Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 1235.13 (Management of the IRR and the Inactive National Guard (ING) establishes policies and assign responsibilities for the management of IRR and ING Programs. It provides: a. Officers who have fulfilled their MSO and have not taken action to elect to remain in the IRR shall be advised of the requirement to remove them from the military. The Military Departments shall remove those officers from the military within 2 years after fulfillment of the officer’s MSO unless they positively elect to remain in the IRR past their MSO. b. Members of the IRR without a remaining MSO who fail to meet those requirements may be processed for discharge unless they are eligible for, and/or apply for transfer to, the Retired Reserve due to having completed the military service requirement for retired pay. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant requests an adjustment of his DOR as a 1LT from 20 July 2011 to 20 May 2009, his PED. 2. The applicant was not promoted on his PED because he had not completed OBC. He argues this is the fault of AHRC for changing his Reserve status "involuntarily and without his knowledge." 3. The applicant's IWS log shows AHRC made multiple attempts to get him to submit the required MSO election. When he did not respond AHRC began the process of changing his Reserve status. Although certain orders were issued in error, the initial impetus for these actions was his failure to comply with DODD 1235.13 and Army regulations. 4. The applicant was an IRR officer. It was his responsibility to be the primary monitor of his career. He knew or should have known he could not be promoted to 1LT without the required OBC education, yet according to the IWS log, he made no timely effort to obtain a class date ahead of his PED. 5. There is no error or injustice in the applicant's DOR to 1LT. He is not entitled to an earlier date. 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) AR20120001106 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120001106 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1