RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 2 June 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050004996
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. Fred N. Eichorn | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy | |Member |
| |Ms. Marla J. Troup | |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 Army Board for Correction of Military
Record's (ABCMR's) favorable decision of 1 March 2005 in Docket Number
AR20040001873 changing his Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) spouse coverage
to former spouse coverage be set aside.
2. The applicant states that nearly a year had passed and they had heard
nothing concerning his original request. As such, they decided that it had
been either lost or denied and took the alternative action of providing
private insurance for his former spouse. His former spouse has determined
that private insurance is preferable to SBP and has provided her consent to
his request that the original decision be set aside.
3. The applicant provides his former spouse's concurrence with his
request.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant apparently elected to participate in the SBP for spouse
coverage when he retired on 1 February 1998. He divorced on 15 September
2000. The divorce decree stated that his former spouse would continue to
be covered under the SBP. Neither the applicant nor his former spouse
requested that his SBP coverage be changed to former spouse coverage within
one year of their divorce.
2. On 16 May 2004, the applicant applied to the ABCMR for correction of
his records to show he requested his SBP spouse coverage be changed to
former spouse coverage. On 1 March 2005, the Board recommended approval of
his request.
3. In the meantime, the applicant and his former spouse arranged for her
to use private insurance in lieu of the SBP. His former spouse has given
her consent to the applicant's request to set aside the Board's 1 March
2005 decision.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Although the applicant could have contacted the Board to find the
status of his May 2004 request, it is the general policy of the ABCMR not
to cause an applicant to be worse off than he or she would have been had
the Board not acted in the case.
2. The applicant and his former spouse had made a decision regarding
private insurance prior to the Board's 1 March 2005 decision. To allow the
1 March 2005 decision to stand would, in effect, require the applicant to
pay for two beneficiary plans for his former spouse. His former spouse has
indicated that she prefers the private insurance plan. Therefore, as a
matter of equity, it would be appropriate to rescind the Board’s previous
approval in this case and place the applicant in the same status he was in
before he applied to the ABCMR in May 2004.
BOARD VOTE:
__fne___ __teo___ __mjt___ GRANT FULL 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. As a result, the Board recommends that all
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by
rescinding the ABCMR Record of Proceedings, Docket Number AR20040001873,
dated 1 March 2005.
___Fred N. Eichorn____
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050004996 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON | |
|DATE BOARDED |20050602 |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
|DISCHARGE REASON | |
|BOARD DECISION |GRANT |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY |Mr. Schneider |
|ISSUES 1. |137.00 |
|2. | |
|3. | |
|4. | |
|5. | |
|6. | |
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