RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:      28 August 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070004449


      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             |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Paul M. Smith                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Rodney E. Barber              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Rowland C. Heflin             |     |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, correction of her records to show
she was transferred to the Retired Reserve.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that in August 2001 she received her
twenty-year letter.  In August 2004 she was discharged due to unknown
reasons.  In December 2006 her identification card expired so she went to
renew it and was informed she was no longer in the system and that she
needed a retirement order.  She went to her old unit and was told they no
longer had her records.  She was given several numbers to call and finally
she was informed to fill out a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of
Military Record, to ask to be placed in the Retired Reserve.

3.  In support of her request, the applicant provides a copy of her twenty-
year letter, her identification card, discharge orders, and a copy of her
chronological statement of retirement points.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 9 August 2004, the date she was discharged from the Army
Reserve.  The application submitted in this case is dated 20 March 2007.

2.  The applicant's military records show she enlisted in the Reserve, for
6 years, on 17 July 1981.  She continued to serve through a series of
extensions and reenlistments.

3.  The applicant was discharged in the rank and pay grade, Sergeant/E-5,
with a date of rank of 15 April 1996.

4.  On 22 August 2001, the applicant was issued a memorandum, Subject:
Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60 (Twenty Year Letter),
by the US Army Reserve Personnel Command, St. Louis, Missouri.

5.  On 2 January 2003, the applicant was found medically unfit for
continued service in the Army Reserve by the Surgeon.

6.  On 9 August 2004, Orders 04-222-00022, Headquarters, 99th Regional
Readiness Command, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, were published honorably
discharging the applicant from the Reserve, under the provisions of Army
Regulation (AR) 135-178.

7.  The applicant's AHRC Form 249-2-E, Chronological Statement of
Retirement Points, dated 21 July 2005, shows she had completed 22 years, 00
months, and 24 days qualifying service for retirement and 1,825 total
creditable points, by the date of her discharge.

8.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was requested of
the 99th Regional Readiness Command, Personnel Actions Team.

9.  On 3 May 2007, the Team Supervisor, 99th Regional Readiness Command,
responded to the request for an advisory opinion and stated the applicant
had been provided a memorandum in which she was asked to make a decision,
whether to be transferred to the Retired Reserve or to be discharged,
based on a determination by the Surgeon she was medically unfit.  She
failed to respond by the suspense date.  Transfer to the Retired Reserve,
the team supervisor noted, was not automatic – a Soldier was required to
request the transfer.  As a result of not requesting to be placed in the
Retired Reserve, a discharge order was prepared and released.

10.  The team supervisor noted the applicant had been given her
Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at Age 60 (Twenty Year Letter);
and thus recommended that the Board grant the applicant's request that she
be placed in the Retired Reserve based on her medical disqualification.

11.  The advisory opinion was provided to the applicant for her
acknowledgement and possible rebuttal.  On 6 August 2007, she concurred
with the advisory opinion.

12.  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 will 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 errors
such as the wrong character of service or to correct administrative errors
such as rank, social security number, or misspelled name.
13.  Army Regulation 140-10 sets forth the basic authority for the
assignment, attachment, detail, and transfer of Arm Reserve Soldiers.
Chapter 7 of the regulation relates to the removal of Soldiers from an
active status and states, in pertinent part, that Soldiers removed from an
active status will be discharged or, if qualified and if they so request,
will be transferred to the Retired Reserve.

14.  Paragraph 6, of the same regulation, pertains to eligibility for
transfer to the Retired Reserve.  It states that assignment to the Retired
Reserve is authorized and Soldiers must request transfer if they:  have
completed a total of 20 years of active or inactive service in the U.S.
armed forces; were medically disqualified, not as a result of own
misconduct, for retention in an active status or entry on active duty,
regardless of the total years of service completed.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  On 2 January 2003, the applicant was found medically unfit to continue
to serve in the Army Reserve, by the Surgeon.  The evidence shows the
applicant had completed over 22 years qualifying service for retirement
purposes and had been issued a twenty-year letter.

2.  After the applicant was found medically unfit to continue to serve in
the Reserve, she was asked to make a decision to be discharged or to be
transferred to the Retired Reserve.  She did not respond by the suspense
date and was discharged because transfer to the Reserve was not, and is
not automatic.  A Soldier must request to be transferred to the Retired
Reserve.  The evidence shows the applicant was discharged from the
Reserve on 9 August 2004.

3.  It is believed that had the applicant responded to the memorandum and
asked to be transferred to the Retired Reserve at that time, Reserve
officials would have transferred her to that component.

4.  Based on equity considerations and the support given by the 99th
Regional Readiness Command, the applicant is entitled to have Orders 04-222-
00022 revoked so that she be transferred to the Retired Reserve with an
effective date of the same date she was discharged, 9 August 2004, to, in
effect, fully qualify her for transfer to the Retired Reserve and to
qualify her to receive retired pay, on application, at age 60.
BOARD VOTE:

__PMS__  _RB____  _RCH ___  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:

      a.  revoking Orders 04-222-00022 discharging the applicant from the
Reserve; and


      b.  showing she was transferred to the Retired Reserve effective
9 August 2004.




                                  _____Paul M. Smith_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20070004449                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070828                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |136.0000                                |
|2.                      |136.0300                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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