BOARD DATE: 25 June 2013 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120021308 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, correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show her last name as "Cxxxxy" instead of "Jxxxs." 2. The applicant states, in effect, she received a legal last name change with her divorce in 2012. 3. The applicant provides a copy of her divorce decree. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) for 6 years on 26 June 1980. Item 1 (Name - Last, First, Middle) of her DD Form 4 (Enlistment/ Reenlistment Document - Armed Forces of the United States) shows her last name as "Cxxxxy." She signed this form and all allied documents using this name. She entered active duty on 7 December 1981. 2. On 10 February 1990, the applicant was married. 3. A DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action), dated 23 February 1990, shows the applicant's last name was changed in her service records to "Jxxxs." 4. All documents in her service record between 23 February 1990 and September 1993 (her separation date) show this new last name and include: * DA Form 2166-7 (Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation) for the period December 1990 through April 1991 * DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data), verified on 29 April 1991 and 21 January 1992 * Servicemen's Group Life Insurance Election and Certificate, dated 1 December 1992 * Separation orders 5. She was honorably released from active duty on 25 September 1993 and was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement). Item 1 (Name - Last, First, Middle) of her DD Form 214 shows her last name as "Jxxxs." She signed this form using this last name. 6. The applicant provides a copy of her divorce decree, dated 18 April 2012, which ordered her last name to be changed to "Cxxxxy." 7. Army Regulation 635-5 prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It states 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 last name as "Cxxxxy" was carefully considered. 2. Records show the applicant enlisted with the name "Cxxxxy." She married and subsequently had her military records updated with her married name "Jxxxs." All subsequent military documents and official records consistently reflected the name at the time. This was her last name at the time of her separation on 25 September 1993. 3. On 18 April 2012, the applicant was granted a divorce with a last name change back to "Cxxxxy." 4. 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 a different name in her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army’s records at this late date. 5. 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. 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 last name further clarified in her AMHRR. 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) AR20120021308 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120021308 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1