IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  2 June 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090000560 


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, in effect, reconsideration of the Board's denial of her request to upgrade her general discharge to an honorable discharge from the New York Army National Guard (NYARNG).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that she received her officer's commission as a second lieutenant and she moved to Augusta, Georgia, on 1 July 1990 and that she was never assigned as an officer to an Army National Guard (ARNG) unit in New York as her personnel record shows.  She states she was assigned to a unit in New York while she was an undergraduate student in a cadet status under the Simultaneous Membership Program in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, but that she never received notification that she was assigned to Company A, 242d Signal Battalion, NYARNG, as an officer.

3.  The applicant provides copies of her Honorable Discharge Certificate from the U.S. Army Reserve and its corresponding permanent discharge orders.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20080007226 on 4 December 2008.

2.  The Honorable Discharge Certificate and the discharge orders are new evidence which requires the Board to reconsider her request.
3.  In the original finding the ABCMR found that on 18 May 1990, the applicant had authenticated in her own hand an application for an appointment in the NYARNG.  National Guard Bureau Special Orders Number 147 AR, dated 31 July 1990, granted the applicant Federal recognition in the NYARNG and this same order shows she was assigned to Company A, 242d Signal Battalion, NYARNG, effective 18 May 1990.

4.  The applicant's official military personnel file (OMPF) shows that she had accrued 10 unexcused absences as of 5 May 1991, that she was notified in writing of the commander's intention to separate her after accruing 10 unexcused absences, and that the unit sent the applicant these notification letters via certified mail to her at her last known address of record shown as 
2__-2_ M___ Avenue, Queens Village, New York  11427.  There is no record that the applicant acknowledged receipt of these certified letters in her OMPF.

5.  On 26 June 1991, Office of the Adjutant General, State of New York, Orders 123-64, directed the applicant's separation from the NYARNG effective 1 June 1991.  These orders listed the type of separation as general and transferred the applicant to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Control Group (Reinforcement).  The effective date of the separation and transfer was 1 June 1991.

6.  The applicant's record includes a Reserve Personnel Accounting System (RPAS) Retirement Points Summary that shows she served in a commissioned officer status in the ARNG from 17 May 1990 through 16 May 1991 and in the USAR from 17 May 1991 through 17 June 1998.  This RPAS statement shows that she did not receive inactive duty points or active duty points throughout her 8 years in the Reserve Component.

7.  As new evidence for the Board's consideration, the applicant provides copies of her Honorable Discharge Certificate, dated 17 June 1998, which shows she was a member of the USAR in the rank of first lieutenant and that she was honorably discharged from the USAR.  She also submitted discharge 
Orders D-6-840333, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center, St. Louis, Missouri, dated 17 June 1998, which show she was honorably discharged from the USAR effective 17 June 1998.

8.  Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the ABCMR.  The regulation provides that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that she was never assigned to an Army Reserve Component unit in New York, in effect the NYARNG, for she moved to Augusta, Georgia, on or about 1 July 1990.  She contends that she served in the Individual Ready Reserve for 8 years from 1990 to 1998, that she resigned her commission, and that she was honorably discharged from the USAR.

2.  The evidence of record does not support the applicant's contention that she was not assigned to the NYARNG after she was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve.  Nor does the applicant's record support her contention that she moved to Augusta, Georgia, on or about 1 July 1990.  The record shows that she personally requested Federal recognition as a member of the NYARNG and was assigned to Company A, 242d Signal Battalion, NYARNG, effective 18 May 1990.  The applicant accrued 10 unexcused absences as of 5 May 1991.

3.  The applicant was assigned continuously to the USAR Control Group (Annual Training) from 17 May 1991 until her honorable discharge on 17 June 1998.  Her RPAS Retirement Points Summary statement shows she received no retirement points for active duty training or inactive duty training.

4.  The Board assumes presumption of regularity and the applicant must show to the Board's satisfaction, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant's new evidence was carefully considered: however, the new evidence only shows that she was honorably discharged from the USAR after completing her military statutory service obligation of 8 years.  The applicant did not adequately address her personal request for membership in the NYARNG or provide supporting evidence to show she was never assigned to the NYARNG as she states in her request to have her record corrected.

5.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support changing the original Board decision.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__X____  ____X___  ___X____  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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20080007226, dated 4 December 2008.



      ____________X_____________
                 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)                                         AR20090000560



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090000560



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