IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 15 January 2013 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120010256 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 correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show her married name rather than her maiden name. 2. The applicant states, in effect, she was married on 7 April 2012 and would like her DD Form 214 to show her married name. 3. The applicant provides: * Department of Veterans Affairs Identification Card * Military Retiree Identification Card * Social Security Card * Marriage Certificate CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 5 March 2003. She completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 35N (Signals Intelligence Analyst). The highest rank/grade she attained while on active duty was staff sergeant/E-6. 2. The applicant’s DD Form 4/1 (Enlistment Record – Armed Forces of the United States) shows she reenlisted on 2 September 2005 using her maiden name. 3. On 30 September 2009, the applicant was honorably retired due to a permanent disability. She completed 6 years, 9 months, and 26 days of creditable active military service. The DD Form 214 she was issued at the time shows her maiden name. 4. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. In states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant’s request for correction of her DD Form 214 to show her married name was carefully considered. 2. Records show the applicant was married on 7 April 2012 and subsequently changed her last name. However, this does not change the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time her service records were created. 3. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the accuracy of its records. The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created. In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed. While it is understandable the applicant desires to now record her married name in her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army’s records. 4. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document will be filed in her Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR), formerly known as the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the name difference recorded in her military record and to satisfy her desire to have her married name documented in her AMHRR. 5. However, if it is the applicant's retired pay records that she wishes to update the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has stated in previous cases that it is their policy to refer retirees to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command to approve a name change. The applicant should therefore provide supporting documentation to: Commander, Human Resources Command, ATTN: AHRC-PDR-VI, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122 requesting approval of her name change and inform DFAS when it has been approved. 6. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief. 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) AR20120010256 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120010256 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1