IN THE CASE OF:	  

	BOARD DATE:	  03 July 2008

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080006566 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his DD Form 214 be corrected to reflect that he was released from active duty (REFRAD) and was transferred to a United States Army Reserve (USAR) unit on 30 June 2007. 

2.  The applicant states that he should have been REFRAD instead of being discharged because he signed an agreement to serve in a troop program unit (TPU) before his separation date and his separation orders were amended to reflect that fact.  However, his DD Form 214 shows that he was discharged with no further affiliation with the USAR. 

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 and a copy of his orders assigning him to a USAR unit in Mesa, Arizona. 

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 15 November 2000, the applicant entered into a 3-year Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) commitment at the College of William and Mary in which he agreed that he had an 8-year military service obligation upon appointment as an officer in return for tuition and educational fees up to an annual amount of $16,000.    

2.  He was commissioned as a USAR Signal Corps second lieutenant on 10 May 2003 and was ordered to active duty effective 30 June 2003 to complete his      4-year active duty commitment.  

3.  He completed his Signal Officer Basic Course and was transferred to Fort Huachuca, Arizona.  He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant on 30 November 2004 and he deployed to Iraq for 13 months in April 2005.  He returned to Fort Huachuca and was promoted to the rank of captain on 1 July 2006. 

4.  On 28 March 2007, orders were published which directed the applicant’s discharge on 30 June 2007.  On 25 June 2007, those orders were amended to show that the applicant would be assigned to a USAR unit in Mesa, Arizona.

5.  On 30 June 2007, the applicant was honorably discharged under the provisions of Army regulation 600-8-24, paragraph 3-5, due to miscellaneous/
general reasons.  He had served 4 years and 1 day of total active service.  His DD Form 214 issued at the time of his discharge does not reflect in block 9 (Command to Which Transferred), that he was transferred to the USAR unit in Mesa, Arizona.

6.  A review of the applicant’s record shows that on 26 March 2008, the applicant again accepted an appointment in the USAR as a Signal Corps captain to be effective 1 July 2007.

7.  Further review of his record shows that he had an exemplary active duty career and it is void of any derogatory information.  There is no evidence that the applicant submitted an unqualified resignation of his commission.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-24, Officer Transfers and Discharges, prescribes the policies and procedures governing transfer and discharge of Army officer personnel.  Paragraph 3-5 of that regulation, processing unqualified resignations, provides, in pertinent part, that normally resignations will not be accepted unless on the requested date of separation the officer has fulfilled his/her military service obligation (MSO).  An officer must serve in the Armed Forces until completion of statutory MSO.  REFRAD under Chapter 2 of this regulation does not terminate an MSO.  An officer has an 8-year MSO and to waive an officer’s MSO, the Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA) must find that the officer has no potential for service under conditions of full mobilization.

9.  Chapter 2 of that regulation governs the REFRAD of Reserve Component Commissioned and Warrant Officers.  Paragraph 2-7 provides the rules for processing the voluntary release from active duty due to expiration of active duty commitment.  It provides, in pertinent part, that application for REFRAD must be submitted not earlier than 12 months and no later than 6 months before the desired release date.         
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that he should have been REFRAD instead of being discharged has been noted and appears to have merit.  

2.   The applicant has an 8-year MSO and he had a 4-year active duty commitment.  He completed his 4-year active duty commitment and prior to his discharge elected to join a USAR TPU.  This is indicative that the applicant believed that he was being voluntarily REFRAD due to completion of required active service.

3.  However, because he was discharged, his appointment as a commissioned officer was terminated, which resulted in his having to obtain another USAR commission in order to continue to serve.

4.  The evidence of record shows that there is no derogatory information in his record that would serve to support an unqualified resignation before completion of his MSO.  Therefore, it is reasonable to presume that he was improperly discharged and that he should have been REFRAD due to completion of required active service under the provisions of paragraph 2-7, Army Regulation 600-8-24, with a separation code of MBK.

5.  Additionally, his DD Form 214 should reflect his transfer to the 2nd Battalion, 363rd Training Support Battalion, 7334 East Ulysses Avenue, Mesa, Arizona 85212. 

BOARD VOTE:

__XXX __  __XXX__  __XXX__   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 
showing that he was released from active duty (vice discharged) under the provisions of Army Regulation 600-8-24, paragraph 2-7 (vice 3-5) due to Completion of Required Active Service (vice Miscellaneous/General Reasons), that he was issued a separation code of “MBK” (vice KND) and that he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion, 363rd Training Support Battalion, 7334 East Ulysses Avenue, Mesa, Arizona 85212 upon his REFRAD.



      ___        XXX                ___
                CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006566



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080006566



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