RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          10 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003125


      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             |
|     |Mr. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Margaret K. Patterson         |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |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 he be given 1 additional day of
service credit and that his report of separation (DD Form 214) be corrected
to reflect that he served 2 years of active service.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was discharged on 19 July
1968, which was a Friday, because the separations office was not open on
the weekend.  As a result, he only served 1 year, 11 months and 29 days of
total active service.  He goes on to state that because he was not credited
with a complete month, or 2 full years, he has only received credit for 1
year and 11 months of active service towards his civil service retirement
because civil service retirement only counts full months of 30 days.
Consequently, he has been unjustly penalized because he is not credited
with the additional 29 days he served because the separations office was
not open on Saturday.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 and a sheet from his
civil service retirement computation showing his credit for military
service towards retirement.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which
occurred on 19 July 1968.  The application submitted in this case is dated
7 February 2005.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  He was inducted in Knoxville, Tennessee, on 21 July 1966 and was
transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, to undergo his basic combat training
(BCT). He successfully completed his BCT and was transferred to Fort
Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, to undergo on-the-job training as a military
policeman (MP).  He was awarded the military occupational specialty (MOS)
of an MP on 16 December 1966 and was transferred to Vietnam on 14 February
1967.

4.  He was advanced to the pay grade of E-4 on 29 August 1967 and remained
in Vietnam until 6 February 1968, when he was transferred to Fort
McPherson, Georgia.  He remained at Fort McPherson until Friday, 19 July
1968, when he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) due to the
expiration of his term of service (ETS).  He had served 1 year, 11 months
and 29 days of total active service and was transferred to the United
States Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Annual Training).  He was
honorably discharged on 20 July 1972.

5.  A review of the available records fails to show any indication that the
applicant consented to be REFRAD prior to his ETS or that he was advised of
the consequences of being released prior to his ETS as it related to
benefits.

6.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the criteria for separating enlisted
service members from active duty.  Paragraph 4 -1 of the cited regulation
states that a soldier will be separated upon expiration of enlistment or
fulfillment of service obligation.

7.  That regulation, at paragraph 4-2d, recognizes the fact that some
Soldier’s terms of service may expire on Saturday or Sunday or a Holiday.
This paragraph provides that such Soldiers may consent to be separated on
the last working day before their normal date of discharge or REFRAD.  The
date of REFRAD will be the date recorded on the DD Form 214.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant does not contend that he was not informed that
his separation on Friday, 19 July 1968, had to be with his consent, there
is no evidence in the available records to show that he was properly
briefed regarding the consequences of separating prior to completion of his
full term of service or that his consent was obtained.

2.  While it is a common practice for Soldiers to separate the last working
day prior to the weekend of separation, the applicable regulations require
that Soldiers who elect to separate early be advised of the consequences of
early separation as it may affect future benefits and they must consent to
such separations.

3.  Therefore, it appears that it is inherently unjust that the applicant
be penalized for something that occurred through no fault of his own and
that had he been properly counseled, could have avoided.  Accordingly, it
would be in the interest of justice to correct his records to show that he
separated on 20 July 1968, instead of 19 July 1968, and that he completed 2
years of total active service, in order for him to receive full active duty
credit towards his civil service retirement or any other benefits he may be
denied as a result of his premature separation.

BOARD VOTE:

__mkp___  __lds___  __mjf___  GRANT 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 and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by showing that he was honorably REFRAD
on 20 July 1968, instead of 19 July 1968, as currently reflected on his DD
Form 214, and that he be credited with 2 years of total active service.



                 Margaret K. Patterson
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003125                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051110                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT)                                 |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES                  |190/chg date                            |
|1.110.0100              |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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