RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        7 July 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003176


      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. Beverly A. Young              |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric Andersen                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carol Kornhoff                |     |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 that the narrative reason for her separation be
changed.

2.  The applicant states that her duties were hazardous to her pregnancy.
She requests that her separation code be corrected to reflect that her
condition interfered with her duties in military occupational specialist
(MOS) 31U (Signal Support Systems Specialist).  She states that she was in
the same condition during her second term of service.  Her children stayed
with her grandparents, but at that time her grandfather suffered a triple
heart attack.  She had no choice but to get out of the Service because she
had no other family members in which to leave her children until she
finished her tour.

3.  The applicant provides two DD Forms 214 (Certificate of Release or
Discharge from Active Duty).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 20 December 1996.  The application submitted in this case
was received in this office on 16 November 2004.

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.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 3 November 1993 for a
period of four years.  She completed the required training and was awarded
MOS 31U.

4.  The applicant's request for separation is not available.  She was
released from active duty on 29 August 1995 under the provisions of Army
Regulation 635-200, chapter 8 by reason of pregnancy and she was
transferred to a Reserve unit.

5.  She enlisted in Regular Army again on 8 October 1996 for a period of
four years.

6.  The applicant's request for separation is not available.  Her DD Form
214 for the period ending 20 December 1996 shows she was released from
active duty on 20 December 1996 under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-
200, chapter 8 by reason of pregnancy with service uncharacterized.  She
completed 2 months and 13 days total active military service during this
period and 1 year, 9 months and 27 days prior active military service.

7.  The applicant's DD Form 214 for the period ending 20 December 1996
shows she was issued a Separation Program Designator (SPD) of "MDF"
(Pregnancy).

8.  On 6 October 2004, the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) denied the
applicant's request for a change in the character and/or reason of her
discharge.

9.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the
separation of enlisted personnel.  Chapter 8 of that regulation states, in
pertinent part, that an enlisted woman who is medically diagnosed as being
pregnant may, after her unit commander has counseled her concerning her
options, entitlements and responsibilities, request separation under this
paragraph.

10.  Paragraph 6-3 of Army Regulation 635-200 states that Soldiers of the
Active Army and the Reserve Components may be discharged or released
because of genuine dependency or hardship.  The regulation provides that
hardship exists when, in circumstances not involving death or disability of
a member of a Soldier’s (or spouse’s) immediate family, separation from the
Service will materially affect the care or support of the family by
alleviating undue and genuine hardship.

11.  Army Regulation 635-5-1 (Separation Program Designator (SPD) Codes)
prescribes the specific authorities (regulatory, statutory, or other
directives), the reasons for the separation of members from active military
service, and the SPDs to be used for these stated reasons.  The regulation
shows that the SPD “MDF” as shown on the applicant’s DD Form 214 specifies
the narrative reason for discharge as “Pregnancy” and that the authority
for discharge under this separation program designator is “AR 635-200,
Chapter 8.”

12.  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.  The U.S. Court of Appeals, observing
that applicants to the ADRB are by statute allowed 15 years to apply there,
and that this Board's exhaustion requirement (Army Regulation 15-185,
paragraph 2-8), effectively shortens that filing period, has determined
that the 3 year limit on filing to the Army Board for Correction of
Military Records (ABCMR) should commence on the date of final action by the
ADRB.  In complying with this decision, the ABCMR has adopted the broader
policy of calculating the 3-year time limit from the date of exhaustion in
any case where a lower level administrative remedy is utilized.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The application to the ABCMR was received within three years of the
decision of the ADRB; therefore, the applicant has timely filed.

2.  The applicant served in the Regular Army from 3 November 1993 to
29 August 1995 and was separated under the provisions of Army Regulation
635-200, chapter 8 by reason of pregnancy.

3.  She enlisted in the Regular Army again on 8 October 1996.

4.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is presumed that the
applicant voluntarily requested separation from the Service based on Army
Regulation 635-200, chapter 8 by reason of pregnancy.  As a result, she was
separated from active duty on 20 December 1996 in accordance with law and
regulations applicable at the time.

5.  The applicant's contentions have been noted.  However, there is
insufficient evidence on which to grant her request for a change of the
narrative reason.

6.  In accordance with Army Regulation 635-200, chapter 8, the applicant
was counseled by her unit commander concerning her options, entitlements
and responsibilities for separation under this regulation.

7.  There is insufficient evidence which verifies the narrative reason
given to her was in error or unjust.  Therefore, her separation documents
for the periods ending 29 August 1995 and 20 October 1996 properly reflect
that she was separated from active duty under the provisions of Army
Regulation 635-200, chapter 8 by reason of pregnancy.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

MM______  EA______  CK______  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.




                                  Melvin Meyer__________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003176                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |YYYYMMDD                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19961220                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR635-200,chapter 8                     |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Pregnancy                               |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |110.0200                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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