RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        8 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004405


      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. Joyce A. Wright               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. James B. Gunlicks             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Scott W. Faught               |     |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 his honorable discharge be
changed to show that he was separated or retired by reason of physical
disability.

2.  The applicant states that he reenlisted on 26 December 1989 for 6 years
in the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR) as an employee with the U.S. Postal
Service.  He had a problem, (mental issue), and was terminated from
employment due to sub-par performance.  He was later hospitalized and
diagnosed at the Northeast Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama, in
January 1989.  The possibility of when his disease began was uncertain.
Due to this problem, he was neither able to perform his postal duties or
his USAR duties.  There was no reporting of the problem to the Army
Reserve.  The time and validness (sic) of the question of mental disease
should and would have changed the whole outcome of not only Reserve
commitment as well as postal employment.  His insurance carrier was "Mail
Handler" which paid for the entire hospital stay as well as prescription
drug costs.

3.  The applicant provides no documentation in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which
occurred on 2 January 1996, the date of his discharge.  The application
submitted in this case is dated 16 March 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 limitations 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's military records show he entered active duty (AD) on
18 June 1980, as a motor transport operator (64C).  He was promoted to
sergeant (SGT/E-5) on 1 November 1983.  He continued to serve until he was
honorably discharged on 17 April 1986.




4.  After a break in service, he enlisted in the USAR on 13 January 1987,
in the pay grade E-5, for a period of 3 years, with an established
expiration of term of service (ETS) of 12 January 1990.  He reenlisted in
the USAR on 26 December 1989, for a period of 6 years, with an established
ETS of 25 December 1995.

5.  He continued to serve until he was honorably discharged in the pay
grade of E-5 on 2 January 1996, 9 days past his ETS.

6.  There is no evidence that the applicant requested a separation medical
examination from the USAR and his medical records are unavailable for
review.

7. Army Regulation 135-178 establishes the policies, standards, and
procedures governing the administrative separation of enlisted Soldiers
from the Reserve components.  Paragraph 1-3 states, in pertinent part, that
orders discharging a Soldier would not be revoked or the effective date
changed after the effective date of discharge unless there was evidence of
manifest error or fraud.  After the effective date of discharge, orders can
be amended by the separation authority only to correct manifest error such
as the wrong character of service or to correct administrative errors such
as rank, social security number, or misspelled name.

8.  Army Regulation 135-178, paragraph 12-1, states that Reserve enlisted
Soldiers who are no longer qualified for retention by reason of medical
unfitness under the standards of AR 40-501, chapter 3 (Medical Fitness
Standards for Retention and Separation Including Retirement) will be
discharged unless they are granted a waiver of the medical disqualification
or are eligible and request transfer to the Retired Reserve under Army
Regulation    140-10, paragraph 6-1.

9.  Public Law 99-661 (604 PL 99-661), 14 November 1986, revised the
provisions of Title 10, United States Code, sections 1204, 1205, and 1206
to provide for disability processing of Reserve component soldiers who
incurred or aggravated an injury or disease in the line of duty while
performing inactive or active duty training after 15 November 1986 under a
call or order that specified a period of 30 days or less.  Referral for
disability processing does not mean an automatic entitlement to disability
compensation.  Once referred, a determination must be made whether the
disease was the proximate result of performing duty.  Prior to the
aforementioned date, Army Regulation 635-40, chapter 8, provided that
members of the Reserve components who incurred a disability which resulted
from a disease rather than an injury, while performing duty prior to
15 November 1986, could not be referred for disability processing.  The
provisions of Public Law 99-661 are not retroactive.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's medical records are unavailable for review and there is
no evidence to show that he requested a separation medical examination from
the USAR.  There is no evidence, and the applicant has provided no medical
evidence, to show that he had a mental issue or a disease of any nature,
which would have prevented him from performing his duties, while serving in
the USAR. There also is no evidence to show that any such disease would
have changed the outcome of his Reserve commitment or his postal
employment.  The evidence clearly shows that he was honorably discharged by
reason of ETS.

2.  Based on the evidence provided, the applicant is not entitled to a
change of the reason or the authority for his honorable discharge to show
that he was separated or retired by reason of physical disability.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 2 January 1996; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on 1 January 1999.  The applicant did not file within the
3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation
or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_JBG_____  _RTD__  _SWF___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.




2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  _____Richard T. Dunbar_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004405                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051208                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19960102                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 135-178                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |108                                     |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |

-----------------------
[pic]