IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	 27 July 2010 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090020894 


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, correction of her record to reinstate her in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) so she may maintain eligibility for payment under the Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) Program.

2.  The applicant states:

	a.  she was never informed of being discharged [from the IRR effective
20 November 2003];

	b.  she receives payments under the VSI from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and was to be in the IRR until 2013;

	c.  she has called every year and been informed everything was up to date;

	d.  her address has not been [the address on her IRR discharge orders] for approximately 8 years;

	e.  the USAF has the correct address and has spoken to the Army; and

	f.  she has had to call the USAF and the Army for the last 6 years and neither ever said she was discharged.


3.  The applicant provides a copy of:

* Orders D-11-341949, U.S. Army Human Resources Command. St. Louis, MO (USAHRC-STL), dated 20 November 2003, discharging her from the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR)
* her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) documenting her active duty service in the USAF

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant's complete military record is not available to the Board for review.  However, documentation provided by the applicant, documentation in the applicant's record in the interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS), and a transaction history available through the USAHRC's Integrated Web Services (IWS) are sufficient to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

2.  The applicant entered active duty in the USAF on 24 September 1984 and she was released from active duty and transferred to the USAF Reserve on
9 October 1994.  Item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) of her DD Form 214 shows the entry "Early release program voluntary separation benefit."  Item 18 (Remarks) shows the entry "VSI - $3,866.40 annually for 20 years and 00 months."

3.  An ARPC Form 249-E (Chronological Statement of Retirement Points) shows the applicant served in the USAR from 12 October 1996 to 20 November 2003.

4.  The applicant's record in iPERMS includes a reenlistment contract she executed on 10 November 1997.  The contract shows she reenlisted in the USAR for a period of 6 years.  When she reenlisted, she signed a DA Form 3540-R (Certificate and Acknowledgement of USAR Service Requirements and Methods of Fulfillment) indicating she had read and understood Section VI (Satisfactory Participation), paragraph c(3), which states:

I must keep the Commander, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center, advised of my current mailing address, where I will receive official correspondence, and I must reply to and comply with all official orders and correspondence I may receive, or I will be declared an unsatisfactory participant.

5.  The transaction history in IWS shows on 20 November 2001, USAHRC-STL mailed the applicant an ARPC Form 3275-E (Army Reserve Status and Address 


Verification).  The form was to be completed and returned by the applicant and would have been used to verify her personal information, such as home address and phone number, and to collect information on her interest in continued service in the USAR.  The record is void of documentation showing she completed and returned the form.

6.  The transaction history in IWS also shows on 8 March 2002, a USAHRC-STL staff member attempted to contact the applicant by telephone.  The staff member entered the remark "bad number," indicating the attempt failed.  

7.  The record is void of documentation showing the applicant contacted the U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center to update her address or other contact information.

8.  The applicant completed her enlistment on 9 November 2003.  Effective
20 November 2003, she was honorably discharged from the USAR by Orders
D-11-341949, USAHRC-STL.

9.  On 14 May 2010, an advisory opinion was provided by the Transition Assistance Management Program (TAMP) Manager, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Command, St. Louis.  The advisory official states there is no record showing the applicant reenlisted in the USAR on or after the date she completed her enlistment.  The advisory official further states that to receive VSI payments for the time specified on their DD Form 214, individuals must be Reserve affiliated or be placed in the Retired Reserve for reasons beyond their control.

10.  On 17 May 2010, a copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant for information and to allow her the opportunity to submit comments or a rebuttal.  On 3 June 2010, the applicant responded to the advisory opinion.  She stated:

	a.  she had been receiving her VSI payment yearly until 2009, calling the USAF and several Army telephone numbers every year to ensure her payment would be processed.  During these calls, she was never informed she had to reenlist.

	b.  the USAF has her on their VSI list, but the Army does not.

	c.  her discharge papers were sent to an address she had not lived at since 1998 and she received her [VSI] payment at different addresses.  If she had received correspondence to reenlist, she would have done so and still will.

11.  The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 1992 established voluntary incentive programs to support the military drawdown that followed the end of the Cold War.  These incentive programs were designed to induce members of the Armed Forces to leave the military voluntarily.  Under both of the programs, the VSI and the Special Separation Benefit (SSB), qualifying service members who voluntarily left active duty before their retirement vested received benefits based on their salary and years of service at the time of separation.  In order to qualify, a service member must have served on active duty for more than 6 but less than 20 years; have served at least 5 years of continuous active duty immediately preceding the date of separation; if a Reserve, be on the active duty list; and meet such other requirements as the Service Secretaries could prescribe from time to time, which could include requirements relating to years of service, skill or rating, grade or rank, and remaining period of obligated service.

12.  The VSI was an annual annuity payment equal to 2.5 percent of the service members annual basic pay multiplied by his or her years of service and paid for twice the number of years served.  Service members approved for VSI must have been appointed, enlisted, or transferred to the Ready Reserve for the entire period they received VSI annual payments.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record does not support the applicant's request for correction of her record to reinstate her in the IRR, effective 10 November 2003.

2.  The applicant's VSI payments were governed by the terms of her separation from the USAF.  It was her responsibility to ensure she met those terms.  The fact that she continued to receive VSI payments for several years after she was discharged from the USAR has no bearing on her status with the USAR.

3.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was fully aware she was reenlisting in the USAR for a period of 6 years when she signed her reenlistment contract on 10 November 1997.  She was a career enlisted Soldier, who presumably knew that when an enlistment contract expired she would have no longer had a military status unless she again reenlisted.  There is no evidence she attempted to reenlist before or after her term of service expired on                9 November 2003 even though it was in her best interest to do so to continue receiving VSI payments.

4.  Although it appears the applicant made certain the agency providing her VSI payments was aware of her mailing address, there is no evidence showing she complied with the requirement to keep the Commander, U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center, St. Louis, advised of her current mailing address.  Had she 
done so, it is reasonable to assume the USAHRC-STL would have succeeded in its attempt to contact her by mail in 2001 and that she would have received the orders discharging her in a timely manner in 2003.

5.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for correcting the applicant's record to reinstate her in the IRR effective 10 November 2003.  

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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      ____________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)                                         AR20090020894



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090020894



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