RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        9 August 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070002791


      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.

|     |Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano          |     |Director             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Jeffrey C. Redmann            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Rea M. Nuppenau               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Dennis J. Phillips            |     |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 records be corrected to
show he had a full qualifying year for retirement during retirement year
ending (RYE) 16 April 1971.

2.  The applicant states he was on active duty from 19 April 1968 to 16
April 1971 and then joined the U. S. Army Reserve (USAR) in October 1990.
He is only receiving 2 years credit for his active duty service instead of
3.  He believes that by serving 363 days in his third year he should
receive credit for the entire year.  This all stems from his leaving active
duty on Friday, 16 April 1971 instead of on Sunday, 18 April 1971.  He
enlisted for 3 years; he feels he lived up to his part of the contract and
he expects the Army to do the same.  The Army discharged him at their
convenience, which was on a Friday instead of on a Sunday.  He was never
counseled that by being discharged two days early he could encounter
problems with a retirement later in his career.  He had planned to retire
in early 2008 from the USAR and has made several career decisions with that
in mind.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United
States Report of Transfer or Discharge) and a chronological statement of
retirement points.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 19 April 1968 for 3
years.  He was honorably released from active duty on 16 April 1971 after
completing          2 years, 11 months, and 28 days of creditable active
service.  His chronological statement of retirement points shows he earned
363 active duty points for RYE 16 April 1971 and completed 11 months and 29
(sic) days of qualifying service.

2.  The applicant was transferred to the USAR where he served until 18
April 1974, when he was apparently honorably discharged upon the completion
of his statutory military obligation.  His chronological statement of
retirement points shows he earned only membership points during this
period.

3.  The applicant’s chronological statement of retirement points shows he
reentered the USAR on 26 October 1989 and earned only membership points
during RYE 25 October 1990.  His initial USAR enlistment contract is not
available; however, a DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed
Forces of the United States) and a DA From 4836 (Oath of Extension of
Enlistment or Reenlistment) show he enlisted in the USAR on 26 October
1990, as the applicant has stated, rather than on 26 October 1989.

4.  The applicant was promoted to Sergeant First Class, E-7 on 1 January
2000 in military occupational specialty 91G (Patient Administration
Specialist).

5.  The applicant’s chronological statement of retirement points shows he
completed 18 years, 11 months, and 29 days of qualifying service for a
Reserve retirement as of RYE 25 October 2006.

6.  In the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from
the Army Medical Department Region, U. S. Army Human Resources Command –
St. Louis.  The advisory opinion noted that the Reserve and Active
components have two different retirement systems.  The USAR accepts good
retirement years from other components; however, the applicant did not get
retirement year credit for his third year of service with the Regular Army
because he only had 363 days of active duty.

7.  A copy of the advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for
comment or rebuttal.  He responded by stating he felt it is unfair to not
count 363 days as a full year for retirement.  He is not sure if this was
done on purpose by the Army back in 1971 but assumes it was and probably
still is standard practice.  He understands that “rules are rules” but he
finds it completely frustrating that the rules only work in the favor of
the Government and not the Soldier.

8.  Army Regulation 635-200 sets forth the basic authority for the
separation of enlisted personnel.  In pertinent part, it states when
Soldiers’ terms of service expire or they otherwise become eligible for
discharge or release from active duty on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
holiday, they may consent to be discharged or released and transferred to
the USAR on the last working day before their normal date of discharge or
release.

9.  Army Regulation 140-185 prescribes the types of training and activities
for which retirement points are authorized and the procedures for recording
retirement point credits and training for USAR Soldiers.  In pertinent
part, it states a RYE is established on date of transfer to the Reserve
component upon release from active duty in a regular component.

10.  Army Regulation 140-185 also provides that an annual Statement of
Retired Points will be prepared for all Soldiers regardless of the number
of points awarded.  The purpose of the statement is to give a permanent
record of the total retirement points a Soldier earns during a retirement
year; to tell the Soldier whether he/she earned sufficient points to be
credited with a qualifying period for retired pay or for retention in an
active status; and to give the Soldier an opportunity to request correction
of errors in the statement.

11.  Sections 12731 through 12740 of Title 10, U.S. Code, authorize retired
pay for Reserve component military service.  Under this law, a Reserve
Soldier must have attained age 60 and have completed a minimum of 20 “good”
qualifying years of service.  The term “good years” is an unofficial term
used to mean each one-year period in which 50 or more retirement points are
earned and which count as qualifying years of service for retirement
benefits at age 60.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contended that by serving 363 days in his third year of
his Regular Army service he should receive credit for the entire year.  He
contended the problem occurred because he was separated on Friday, 16 April
1971 instead of on his normal expiration term of service, which fell on
Sunday, 18 April 1971.

2.  It is acknowledged that the applicant enlisted for 3 years and that it
appears it was at the Government’s convenience that he separated on the
last working day prior to his expiration term of service rather than on his
actual expiration of term of service.  However, his consent was required
prior to his early discharge.  The applicant has provided no evidence and
does not even contend that he insisted on remaining in the Army until
Sunday, 18 April 1971 but the Army separated him on Friday, 16 April 1971
anyway.

3.  The applicant has received day-for-day service credit for the last year
of active duty he served while in the Regular Army.  His chronological
statement of retirement points shows he served 2 years, 11 months, and 29
days of qualifying service, rather than the 2 years, 11 months, and 28 days
of active duty he actually served.  The U. S. Army Human Resources Command
– St. Louis should review his chronological statement of retirement points
to verify if the statement contains an error.

4.  The applicant’s argument that he was never counseled that by being
discharged two days early he could encounter problems with a retirement
later in his career is not convincing.  The applicant did not have a
“career” until around 1990 when he enlisted in the USAR, 19 years after he
separated from the Regular Army.

5.  The applicant stated that he had planned to retire in early 2008 from
the USAR and has made several career decisions with that in mind.  It is
noted that chronological statements of retirement points should have been
provided to the applicant on at least an annual basis.  Recently, they have
become available electronically.  If the applicant had not been receiving
them at least annually, as a noncommissioned officer he should have been
inquiring as to why he had not been receiving them.  In the absence of
evidence to the contrary, it is presumed he had been receiving them on at
least an annual basis.  He should therefore have been aware much earlier
that he was not being credited with a full year of qualifying service for
RYE 16 April 1971 and made his retirement plans accordingly.

6.  Based on the above, there is insufficient evidence that would warrant
granting the relief requested.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jcr___  __rmn___  __djp___  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.




                                  __Jeffrey C. Redmann__
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20070002791                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070809                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Ms. Mitrano                             |
|ISSUES         1.       |135.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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