RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            08 JUNE 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003094979


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Jennifer Prater               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Karen Fletcher                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. John Denning                  |     |Member               |

      The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that an 11 July 1995 memorandum of record
(Subject: Administrative Separation), regarding an administrative
separation resulting from being dropped from the rolls of the Army, be
expunged from his OMPF (Official Military Personnel File).

2.  The applicant states he was honorably discharged from the active Army
on
12 December 1991, received a separation report, and has served continuously
as “an active reservist” in a TPU (Troop Program Unit) since that time.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the 1995 memorandum of record and a
copy of his December 1991 separation document.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Records available to the Board indicate that the applicant served an
initial period of active duty with the United States Marine Corps between
1980 and 1986.  On 25 March 1986, the day following his release from active
duty with the United States Marine Corps, the applicant enlisted in the
United States Army Reserve under the Delayed Entry/Enlistment Program.

2.  The applicant was discharged from the Delayed Entry/Enlistment Program
and entered active duty for a period of 3 years on 20 May 1986.  In July
1986 he extended his 3-year enlistment by an additional 4 months in order
to complete requirements for an overseas tour.  As a result of his
extension, his new separation date was established as 19 September 1989.

3.  On 13 April 1989, prior to the expiration of his scheduled separation
date, the applicant reenlisted for a period of 2 years.  In July 1990 he
extended his 2-year enlistment by an additional 3 months and July 1991 he
extended that same enlistment by an additional 5 months, thereby
establishing his separation date as 12 December 1991.

4.  On 12 December 1991, his scheduled separation date, the applicant was
released from active duty, in pay grade E-6, with an honorable
characterization of service.  His separation document reflects no lost time
and he received a Reenlistment Eligibility (RE) Code of 1, which signified
that he was fully qualified for reenlistment at the time of his separation.

5.  On 13 December 1991 the applicant enlisted in the United States Army
Reserve for a period of 6 years.  He has continued to serve in the United
States Army Reserve through a series of reenlistment actions and in June
2003 he executed an indefinite reenlistment contract.  The applicant was
promoted to pay grade E7 in 1996, to E-8 in 1998, and to E-9 in 2001.
6.  The memorandum of record (Subject: Administrative Separation) which the
applicant wants expunged from his OMPF was prepared on 11 July 1995 by the
Chief, Separation Records Transfer Branch at the United States Army
Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana,
nearly 4 years after the applicant was released from active duty.  The
memorandum notes that the applicant was “released from military control and
dropped from the Army rolls, administrative, by authority of the DCSPER
[Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel] on 921212.”  The document states that
“neither a separation order nor a DD [Department of Defense] Form 214
[Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty] was issued.”  It
also states that the specific instructions for this type of separation are
contained in Army Regulation 680-29, paragraph 1-73.  The document notes
that transaction change number “985” was used to effect the separation.

7.  The applicant’s OMPF does not contain any other documents associated
with being dropped from the rolls of the Army.

8.  Army Regulation 680-29 (Military Personnel, Organization, and Type of
Transaction Codes) establishes various codes for use with SIDPERS (Standard
Installation/Division Personnel System).  Paragraph 1-73 notes that “Code
number 68” applies to separation program designator codes or transaction
change number (TCN) codes and notes that when a Department of Defense Form
214 is not prepared (e.g. death or dropped from the rolls), the correct
TCNs to use are prescribed in section V, chapter 4.  Section V of chapter 4
notes that code “985” applied to individuals who were “released from
military control and dropped from the Army rolls (by authority of DA
[Department of the Army] letter).

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-104 states that once placed in the OMPF, a
document becomes a permanent part of that file.  The document will not be
removed from a fiche or moved to another part of the fiche unless directed
by one of the appropriate authorities, including the Army Board for
Correction of Military Records.  It also notes that the United States Army
Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison is the
custodian of active Army enlisted records.  The OMPF of United States Army
Reserve Soldiers are maintained in St. Louis, Missouri.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The validity of the memorandum of record is clearly questionable.  It
is possible, because the applicant immediately enlisted in the United
States Army Reserve following his release from active duty on 12 December
1991, that his OMPF was transferred to the records custodian in St. Louis
and not properly “closed out” with the active Army custodian at Fort
Benjamin Harrison.  The fact that the memorandum of record was not issued
until nearly 4 years after the applicant’s 1991 release from active duty,
and the fact that the administrative separation date was the same as the
applicant’s 12 December 1991 scheduled separation date, suggests that
active duty files were being purged in 1995 at Fort Benjamin Harrison, and
because there were no “official” separation documents (e.g. orders,
separation document), a decision was made to “administratively” separate
the applicant by declaring him as having been dropped from the rolls of the
Army.

2.  The evidence clearly shows that the applicant was released from active
duty with an honorable characterization of service on 12 December 1991, his
scheduled separation date, and issued an appropriate separation document.
There is no evidence which indicates that he had any lost time, or that he
was ever dropped from the rolls of the Army.

3.  The retention of a document in the applicant’s OMPF, which is clearly
invalid, could be construed as negative and reflect adversely on the
applicant.  As such, in the interest of justice and equity it would be
appropriate to expunge the document from the applicant’s OMPF.

BOARD VOTE:

__JP____  __KF ___  ___JD___  GRANT 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
expunging the 11 July 1995 memorandum of record (Subject: Administrative
Separation) from the his OMPF.




            ____ Jennifer Prater______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003094979                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040608                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |110.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |