RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            19 October 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2004104809


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James C. Hise                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Bernard P. Ingold             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |Member               |

      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, in effect, that the records of her deceased
spouse, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he completed 20
qualifying years for a non-regular retirement.

2.  The applicant states that the FSM served 19 years and 11 months when he
was electrocuted at work.  He deserves his retirement because he was a
model soldier.

3.  The applicant provides the death certificate; a copy of the FSM's DD
Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty); two National Guard Bureau
(NGB) Forms 23 (Army National Guard Retirement Credits Record); an AL-RPAS-
2-R Form (Request for Correction of Chronological Statement of Retirement
Points for Army National Guard Soldiers); and a leave and earnings
statement dated    16 June 2000.

4.  The applicant states she provided an NGB Form 22 (Report of
Separation); however, it was not available.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM was born on 13 August 1954.  He initially enlisted in the
Regular Army on 5 February 1974.  He was released from active duty on 4
February 1977 after completing 3 years of creditable active service and
transferred to the U. S Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement).  There
is no evidence to show he actively participated in the U. S. Army Reserve.
He married the applicant on an unknown date.

2.  Apparently, the FSM enlisted in the Army National Guard (ARNG) on
     17 March 1984.  He died on 7 February 2001.

3.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Retirements and Annuities Section, Separations and Transitions Branch,
U. S Army Human Resources Command – St. Louis.  That office also provided
an ARPC Form 249-3 (Chronological Record of Military Service) which showed
the FSM completed 3 qualifying years for a non-regular retirement during
the years he served on active duty in the Regular Army; 10 qualifying years
for retirement years ending (RYEs) 16 March 1985 through 16 March 1994; no
record for his RYEs 16 March 1995 through 16 March 1997; and 1 qualifying
year for RYE       16 March 1998.

4.  The NGB Forms 23 and AL-RPAS-2-R form provided by the applicant show
the FSM completed qualifying years that are reflected on the ARPC Form 249-
3.

5.   The leave and earnings statement provided by the applicant shows the
FSM attended 36 unit training assemblies (UTAs) during fiscal year 2000
(not broken down by RYE).  It also shows he attended inactive duty training
on 3 and 4 June 2000 (for a total of 4 retirement points for those dates).

6.  The advisory opinion noted that the Retirements and Annuities Section
attempted to obtain additional documentation from the Alabama ARNG but, as
of 9 April 2004, no additional documentation had been provided, in part,
because the retirement section of the Alabama ARNG had been eliminated.  As
of           12 October 2004, they still had received no additional
documentation.  Based on the available documents, that office recommended
denial of the applicant's request.

7.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant.  She
responded that it was obvious to her the form she sent in was not even
read.  She was requesting the correction as a result of the FSM being
killed in a tragic accident at work due to no fault of his own.  She was
told he had served his country for  19 years and 11 months and a few days.
She had been told there was an exception available in cases such as the
FSM's.  The FSM had every intention of serving his country for as long as
he could.

8.  Army Regulation 135-180 implements statutory authorities governing the
granting of “retired pay” to soldiers and former Reserve components
soldiers.

9.  Sections 1331 through 1337 of Title 10, U.S. Code, authorize retired
pay for Reserve component military service.  Under this law, a Reserve
soldier must complete a minimum of 20 qualifying years of service to be
eligible for retired pay at age 60.  The term “good years” is an unofficial
term used to mean years in which 50 or more retirement points are earned
during each year and which count as qualifying years of service for
retirement benefits at age 60.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contentions are noted.  While not automatic, it is
possible   that an exception could be made for a Reservist who dies before
completing     20 qualifying years of service for a non-regular retirement.

2.  Unfortunately, in this case there is no available evidence to show the
FSM completed more than 14 years of qualifying service for retirement.
Such evidence would consist of verification from the Alabama ARNG or the U.
S. Army Human Resources Command – St. Louis that the FSM completed
qualifying years for RYEs 16 March 1995 through 16 March 1997 and 16 March
1999 through the date of his death.  Other such evidence, that may be
available from the FSM's personal records, would be additional leave and
earnings statements or other records of training for those periods.

3.  Regrettably, the evidence currently available is insufficient to
warrant granting the applicant's request.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jch___  __bpi___  __ym____  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.




            __James C. Hise_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004104809                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041019                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |135.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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