BOARD DATE: 3 December 2013 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130014654 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 date of rank (DOR) for appointment to the rank/grade of second lieutenant (2LT)/O-1 from 18 April 2013 to the appropriate board date in January 2013 with all back pay and allowances due as a result of the correction. 2. The applicant states she graduated from the Officer Candidate School (OCS) in August 2012 but postponed accepting a commission because the Alabama Army National Guard (ALARNG) did not have any available Active Guard Reserve (AGR) authorized positions. a. She resigned from the ALARNG AGR, requested Inter-State Transfer (IST) in an enlisted status, and moved to Tennessee. In October 2012, she submitted a complete commissioning packet to the Officer Strength Management (OSM) office, Tennessee ARNG (TNARNG). Her IST was processed on 5 December 2012 and she was informed that her commission would soon follow. She maintained contact with the OSM office and reported for duty at her new unit in February 2013. She was slotted as a platoon leader, but she still had not received appointment orders. b. She attempted to obtain the status of her application on several occasions through her squadron, but she never received a definite answer as to the delay in processing. She finally received Federal recognition (FEDREC) effective 18 April 2013; however, the administrative delay was not her fault. 3. The applicant provides a copy of her application for appointment as a commissioned officer. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant enlisted in the Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS) and ALARNG on 24 June 2005. She was promoted to sergeant (SGT)/E-5 on 15 February 2011 and she completed OCS in August 2012. 2. A National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22-5 (Addendum to DD Form 4 - Approval and Acceptance by Service Representative for IST in the ARNG) shows the applicant voluntarily transferred to the TNARNG effective 5 December 2012. 3. An NGB Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) shows the applicant was honorably discharged from the TNARNG on 17 April 2013 to accept appointment as a commissioned officer. 4. Orders 108-813, issued by Joint Force Headquarters, Tennessee National Guard, Nashville, TN, dated 18 April 2013, appointed the applicant in the ARNG in the rank/grade of 2LT/O-1 effective 18 April 2013. 5. NGB memorandum, dated 11 June 2013, appointed the applicant as a Reserve commissioned officer of the Army as a 2LT/O-1 effective 18 April 2013. 6. NGB Special Orders Number 144 AR, dated 11 June 2013, announced the appointment of the applicant as a Reserve commissioned officer in the ARNGUS and extended FEDREC as a 2LT/O-1 in the TNARNG effective 18 April 2013. 7. In support of her request the applicant provides an NGB Form 62E (Application for FEDREC as an ARNG Officer or Warrant Officer and Appointment as a Reserve Commissioned Officer or Warrant Officer of the Army in the ARNGUS), dated 17 January 2013, with enclosures pertaining to the applicant that included: * Orders 341-505, issued by Joint Force Headquarters, Alabama National Guard, Montgomery, AL, dated 6 December 2012, that transferred her from the ALARNG to the TNARNG as an IST effective 5 December 2012 * Joint Force Headquarters, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Smyrna, TN, memorandum, dated 21 December 2012, that shows she was accepted to be appointed in the TNARNG and assigned to a unit on 21 December 2012 * DA Form 71 (Oath of Office - Military Personnel) that shows she was appointed as a Reserve officer in the U.S. Army in the grade of O-1 on 17 January 2013. * NGB 337 (Oaths of Office) that shows she was granted temporary FEDREC in the grade of O-1 in the TNARNG on 17 January 2013 8. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Chief, Personnel Policy Division, NGB. a. The advisory official recommends approval of the applicant's request for adjustment of her initial date of appointment as a 2LT/O-1 to 17 January 2013 with payment of all back pay and allowances associated with the correction. b. The NGB review found the administrative delay in processing the applicant's appointment packet was due to no fault of the applicant. c. The TNARNG concurs with the adjustment of the applicant's initial date of appointment as a 2LT/O-1 to 17 January 2013. 9. The applicant was provided a copy of the advisory opinion for information and to allow her the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal. She did not respond. 10. National Guard Regulation 600-100 (Commissioned Officers - FEDREC and Related Personnel Actions) provides procedures for processing applications for FEDREC. a. Chapter 2, paragraph 2-2b, shows "the effective date of FEDREC for original appointment is that date on which the commissioned officer executes the oath of office in the State." b. Chapter 2, paragraph 2-13, shows "Temporary FEDREC may be extended to an officer who has been appointed in the ARNG of a State and found to be qualified by the Federal Review Board (FRB) pending final determination of eligibility and appointment as a Reserve commissioned officer of the Army. Such recognition may be withdrawn at any time. If not sooner withdrawn or replaced by the granting of permanent FEDREC, temporary FEDREC will automatically terminate six months after the effective date of State appointment (Title 32, United States Code, section 308). However, should the initial period of temporary FEDREC expire due to administrative processing delays, through no fault of the applicant, a subsequent FRB should be convened to consider the request and grant another new period of temporary FEDREC, if warranted. 11. The National Defense Authorization Act, section 513, extends the period that members of the National Guard may be granted temporary FEDREC from six months to one year. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant contends her records should be corrected to show she was appointed in the rank/grade of 2LT/O-1 and granted permanent FEDREC in January 2013 with all back pay and allowances due as a result of the correction because the administrative processing delay of her application was due to no fault of hers. 2. Records show the applicant was accepted to be appointed in the TNARNG and assigned to a unit as a 2LT/O-1 on 21 December 2012. Records also show she submitted her application for appointment, executed the oaths of office for appointment as a Reserve officer in the U.S. Army as a 2LT/O-1, and she was extended temporary FEDREC on 17 January 2013. 3. The evidence of record shows that on 11 June 2013, orders announced the appointment of the applicant as a Reserve commissioned officer in the ARNGUS and extended permanent FEDREC as a 2LT/O-1 in the TNARNG effective 18 April 2013. 4. The NGB and TNARNG acknowledge that the administrative delay in processing the applicant's appointment packet was due to no fault of the applicant and recommend the applicant be granted the requested relief. 5. In view of the foregoing and as a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant's records to show she was appointed as a 2LT/O-1 in the ARNGUS and TNARNG with a DOR of 17 January 2013 and that she was granted permanent FEDREC effective 17 January 2013. BOARD VOTE: __x__ __x______ ___x_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. 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 and State ARNG records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing she was appointed to the rank/grade of 2LT/O-1 effective and with a DOR of 17 January 2013 and b. showing she was granted permanent FEDREC as a 2LT/O-1 effective and with a DOR of 17 January 2013. 2. As a result of the above corrections she should be paid all back pay (i.e., pay and allowances, less any withholdings and/or deductions) that may be due as a result of these corrections. _________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) AR20130014654 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130014654 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1