IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 12 March 2015 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140011335 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 records to show she was placed on the Retired List in the rank/grade of master sergeant (MSG)/E-8 vice sergeant first class (SFC)/E-7. 2. The applicant states she held the rank/grade of MSG/E-8 for over 3 years and she had no misconduct or nonjudicial punishment involved. She was forced to take an administrative reduction in rank in order to enter the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) program in 2002. 3. The applicant provides: * Retired Orders Number C-05-494313 and amendment * DA Form 1506 (Statement of Service-for Computation of Length of Service for Pay Purposes) * Marriage certificate * Enlisted Record Brief * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), ending on 31 January 1999, 31 October 1994, 12 September 1990, and 30 March 1993 * National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service) * Orders 02-182-00032, reduction to SFC/E-7 * Orders 126-235, promotion to MSG/E-8 * Multiple AGR Orders and amendments * Request for name change CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant's records show she was born in December 1954. 2. She enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 1 July 1982 and she held military occupational specialty (MOS) 71L (Administrative Specialist). She entered active duty on 13 September 1987 and she was honorably released from active duty on 12 September 1990. 3. She enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG) on 16 April 1991. She entered active duty for training (ADT) on 14 August 1994 and she completed training for award of MOS 91B (Medical Specialist). She was honorably released from ADT on 31 October 1994. 4. On 11 September 1995, she entered active duty for special work (ADSW). She was assigned to the State Area Command, ILARNG and she was advanced to SFC/E-7 in the ARNG on 1 January 1996. 5. On 1 July 1998, ILARNG published Orders 126-235 promoting her to the rank/grade of MSG/E-8 in the ARNG effective 1 July 1998 and awarding her primary MOS 75H (Human Resources Specialist). 6. On 31 January 1999, she was honorably released from active duty at the completion of her ADSW. Her DD Form 214 for this period of service (11 September 1995 to 31 January 1999) listed her rank/grade as MSG/E-8 with an effective date of 1 July 1998. 7. Also on 31 January 1999, she was honorably discharged from the ILARNG for the purpose of enlisting in a troop program unit of the USAR. Her NGB Form 22 for this period of service (16 April 1991 to 31 January 1999) also listed her rank/grade as MSG/E-8 with an effective date of 1 July 1998. 8. On 1 February 1999, she enlisted in the USAR in the rank/grade of MSG/E-8. She was assigned to various troop program units of the USAR and performed duties of MSG/E-8 with the 719th Medical Detachment; 687th Quartermaster Battalion; 14th Battalion (Noncommissioned Officer Academy); and 244th Aviation Brigade, 88th Regional Support Command. 9. On 1 July 2002, Headquarters, 88th Regional Support Command published Orders 2-182-00032 administratively reducing her from MSG/E-8 to SFC/E-7, with a date of rank as 1 January 1996. 10. On 14 July 2002, she entered active duty in an AGR status. She continued her service on active duty in an AGR status, through multiple orders/extensions of her AGR status, in the rank/grade of SFC/E-7. 11. On 1 August 2002, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Command, St. Louis, MO, issued her a Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60 (20-Year Letter). 12. On 13 June 2005, she executed an indefinite reenlistment in the USAR. She served in a variety of assignments in primary MOS 79V (Retention and Training Noncommissioned Officer). 13. She turned 60 years of age in December 2014. 14. On 16 May 2014, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command published Orders C-05-494313 releasing her from active duty effective 31 December 2014 and placing her on the Retired List in her retired rank/grade of SFC/E-7 effective 1 January 2015. The authority for her retirement is Title 10, U.S. Code (USC), sections 3914 and 3961. 15. Her DD Form 214 for this period of service (14 July 2002 to 30 November 2014) listed her rank/grade as SFC/E-7 with an effective date of 1 January 1996. 16. Title 10, USC, section 3914, states under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Army, an enlisted member of the Army who has at least 20, but less than 30, years of service computed under section 3925 of this title may, upon his/her request, be retired. 17. Title 10, USC, section 3925, states for the purpose of determining whether an enlisted member of the Army may be retired under section 3914 or 3917 of this title, his/her years of service are computed by adding all active service in the armed forces and service computed under section 3683 [1] of this title. Time required to be made up under section 972(a) of this title may not be counted in determining years of service under subsection (a). 18. Title 10, USC, section 3961 states: a. The retired grade of a regular commissioned officer of the Army who retires other than for physical disability, and the retired grade of a reserve commissioned officer of the Army who retires other than for physical disability, is determined under section 1370 of this title. b. Unless entitled to a higher retired grade under some other provision of law, a Regular or Reserve of the Army not covered by subsection (a) who retires other than for physical disability retires in the regular or reserve grade that he/she holds on the date of his/her retirement. 19. Title 10, USC, section 3963, states: (a) A Reserve enlisted member of the Army described in subsection (b) who is retired under section 3914 of this title shall be retired in the highest enlisted grade in which the member served on active duty satisfactorily (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, in which the member served on full-time National Guard duty satisfactorily), as determined by the Secretary of the Army. b. This section applies to a Reserve enlisted member who (1) at the time of retirement is serving on active duty (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, on full-time National Guard duty) in a grade lower than the highest enlisted grade held by the member while on active duty (or full-time National Guard duty); and (2) was previously administratively reduced in grade not as a result of the member’s own misconduct, as determined by the Secretary of the Army. c. This section applies with respect to Reserve enlisted members who are retired under section 3914 of this title after 30 September 1996. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant was an ARNG Soldier who was promoted to MSG/E-8 on 1 July 1998, while serving on active duty in an AGR program. She served on active duty in this rank/grade from 1 July 1998 (the date she was promoted) to 31 January 1999 (the date she was released from active duty). 2. She then enlisted in the USAR on 1 February 1999 in the rank/grade of MSG/E-8 and served in this rank/grade until 30 June 2002. She was administratively reduced to SFC/E-7, not due to misconduct, on 30 June 2002. 3. She served on active duty as a Reserve Component Soldier in the AGR program in the rank/grade of SFC/E-7 from 14 July 2002 to 31 January 2014, the date she retired by reason of completion of required active service. 4. The authority for her retirement is Title 10, USC, sections 3914 and 3961: a. Section 3914 of the statute authorizes an enlisted member of the Army who has at least 20, but less than 30, years of service computed under section 3925 of this title, to retire upon request. She completed the required active service and requested to retire. b. Section 3963 applies with respect to Reserve enlisted members who are retired under section 3914 of this title after 30 September 1996, which is applicable in her case. This section states a Reserve enlisted member of the Army described in subsection (b) who is retired under section 3914 of this title shall be retired in the highest enlisted grade in which the member served on active duty satisfactorily (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, in which the member served on full-time National Guard duty satisfactorily), as determined by the Secretary of the Army. She was advanced to MSG/E-8 while a member of the ARNG on active duty and satisfactorily held this rank/grade. Her reduction to SFC/E-7 in 2002 was administrative in nature and not due to misconduct. c. While her DD Form 214 for the period of service from 14 July 2002 to 30 November 2014 correctly listed her rank/grade as SFC/E-7 with an effective date of 1 January 1996 because this is the rank/grade she held at the time of her retirement, her retirement orders did not retire her in the appropriate rank/grade. d. It appears she met the statutory requirements to retire in the highest rank/grade she satisfactorily held - that of MSG/E-8 and should be entitled to correction of her records as such with entitlement to back retired pay as a result of this correction. BOARD VOTE: ____X____ ____X____ ___X_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 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 records of the individual concerned be corrected by: * amending Orders C-05-494313 issued by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command on 16 May 2014 to show she was placed on the Retired List in the rank/grade of MSG/E-8, effective 1 December 2014 * auditing her pay records and paying her all retired pay due as a result of this correction ____________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) AR20140011335 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140011335 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1