RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        25 JULY 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050015604


      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. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Allen Raub                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. LaVerne Douglas               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Peguine Taylor                |     |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 an erroneous entry on his 1973
separation document regarding lost time in 1971 be addressed.  He does not
specify what action he wishes the Board to take.

2.  The applicant states that the entry “3Oct– 3Sep71” is incorrect.  He
noted that the date is almost 1 year and that after entering the Army in
September 1970 he attended basic and advanced individual training and was
stationed at Fort Dix.  He does not specify what the correct dates should
be but notes only that the entry cannot and is not correct.  He does note
that he had 14 days of excess leave and not a year.

3.  The applicant states he never had reason to note the error until he
attempted to obtain credit for his military service toward his state
retirement computation.  He states he needs the correction or will lose
close to 1 year in service computation benefits.

4.  The applicant provides a copy of his separation document and a copy of
a letter from the State Employees Retirement System of Pennsylvania in
support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 13 April 1973.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
20 August 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.  Records available to the Board indicate the applicant entered active
duty on
8 September 1970 and was undergoing training at various locations until mid
April 1971 when he was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey.

4.  He arrived in Korea on 24 September 1971 and on 4 October 1971 was
promoted to pay grade E-4.  He returned to the United States in April 1973
and was released from active duty on 13 April 1973.

5.  Item 26a (non-pay periods time lost) notes he had lost time between 24
and 30 June 1972 and between 8 and 13 July 1972.  That item is also where
the dates “3Oct-13Sep71” is recorded.  Item 30 (remarks) also contains an
entry noting 14 days of excess leave.  However, item 22 (statement of
service) reflects the applicant’s entire 2 years, 7 months, and 6 days of
active Federal service and was not reduced to reflect any lost time.

6.  Item 44 (time lost) on the applicant’s Department of the Army Form 20
(Enlisted Qualification Record), which would normally reflect a Soldier’s
lost time is blank.

7.  The applicant’s file contains only one record of non-judicial
punishment.  In July 1971 he absented himself from his unit for
approximately 40 hours between
27 and 28 July 1971.  That lost time is not reflected on his separation
document and his punishment included only a single forfeiture of pay in the
amount of $15.00.

8.  Army Regulation 635-5, in effect at the time, and which establishes the
policies and provisions for the preparation of separation documents, noted
that item 26a was required for other Federal agencies and will include time
lost under specific provisions of Title 10, United States Code, which were
reflected in paragraph 2-3 of Army Regulation 635-200, in effect during
that same period of time.  Time lost as defined in Army Regulation 635-200
included absences of more than 1 day resulting desertion, absence without
proper authority, confinement under sentence, confinement while awaiting
trial, intemperate use of drugs or alcohol, or being unable to perform
duties due to disease or injury resulting from an individual’s own
misconduct.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Clearly the “3Oct-13Sep71” date in item 26a of the applicant’s 1973
separation document is incorrect.  However, unfortunately, neither the
applicant nor his records provide any clue as to what the correct dates, if
any, should be.  It is also unclear if those dates were meant to be
associated with the 14 days of excess leave reflected in item 30 on the
applicant’s separation document.



2.  In view of the fact that the applicant was promoted to pay grade E-4 on
4 October 1971 it would be unreasonable to conclude that the lost time
occurred between 3 October and 13 October 1971.  While it is probable the
dates should have been 3 September to 13 September 1971, even that would be
speculative.

3.  What is known is that the applicant’s lost time, if any, was not
deducted from the creditable service reflected in item 22 on his 1973
separation document, the
3 October – 13 September 1971 entry is clearly an error, and the item was
intended for use by other agencies.  As such, in the interest of equity and
justice it would be appropriate to simply delete that entry from the
applicant’s separation document thereby resolving any problem the erroneous
entry might have for other agencies utilizing that information.

4.  Because the entry is being deleted in the interest of justice and
equity the applicant would not accrue any pay or allowances which may have
been forfeited as a result of the lost time, if any, which should have been
entered in that item.

BOARD VOTE:

__AR ___  __LD  ___  ___PT __  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 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 deleting the entry “3Oct-13Sep71” from
item 20a on his 1973 separation document.




                            ______  Allen Raub_________
                                      CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050015604                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060725                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |110.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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