IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 February 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100020840 


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 promotion to staff sergeant (SSG)/E-6.

2.  The applicant states he believes he is being punished for being ill.  He states that even though he met all the requirements, including completion of the Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC), before going through the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) he should have been promoted, but he was not.

3.  The applicant refers to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claim and provides:

* a "HQDA Monthly Promotion Selection Name List (Selected for                 1 September 2004 Promotion) to Staff Sergeant"
* an extract of page 7 of Army Regulation 600-8-19 (Enlisted Promotions and Reductions)

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s record shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 30 July 1992.  He was trained in and awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 
52D (Power Generator Equipment Repairer).  

2.  The record shows the applicant was promoted to sergeant (SGT)/E-5 on
1 November 1996, and that this is the highest rank/grade he attained while 


serving on active duty.  The record is void of any indication the applicant was on a valid promotion selection list at the time of his processing through the Physical Disability Evaluation System (PDES).

3.  The applicant is not identified as promotable on any of the available Army automated systems, including the Total Army Personnel Data Base (TAPDB), or in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) maintained on the interactive Personnel Electronic Management System (iPERMS).  

4.  The iPERMS record is void of any documents or proceedings related to the applicant’s medical processing.  The record does include a properly constituted DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) that documents the authority and reason for his separation.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was honorably retired under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-40 (Physical Evaluation for Retention, Retirement, or Separation), by reason of a permanent disability, on 1 October 2007.  It also shows he held the rank/grade of SGT/E-5 on the date of his separation and that he had completed 15 years, 2 months, and 2 days of active military service.

6.  The applicant provides a document titled “HQDA Monthly Promotion Selection Name List (Selection for 1 September 2004 Promotion) to Staff Sergeant” that contains several names, including his.  He also provides page 7 of Army Regulation 600-8-19 and highlights paragraph 1-20 (Promotion of Soldiers pending referral to a military occupational specialty/medical retention board, medical evaluation board, or physical evaluation board), which indicates Soldiers already promotable will not be denied promotion on the basis of medical disqualification if they are otherwise qualified for promotion.  

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-19 prescribes the enlisted promotions and reductions function of the military personnel system.  Paragraph 1-20 provides guidance on the promotion of Soldiers pending referral to a military occupational specialty/medical retention board (MMRB), medical evaluation board (MEB), or physical evaluation board (PEB).  It states under the governing law, Soldiers on a promotion list at the time of retirement for disability will be retired for disability at the promotion list grade.  Further, the Soldier will be promoted to the designated grade effective the day before placement on the retired list.  



8.  Chapter 3 of the enlisted promotion regulation contains guidance on managing the semi-centralized promotion to sergeant and staff sergeant.  It 
states promotion to SGT and SSG are executed in a semi-centralized manner. Field operations will handle board appearance, promotion point calculation, promotion list maintenance, and the final execution of the promotions occurs in the field in a decentralized manner.  

9.  The enlisted promotion regulation stipulates HQDA operations will handle promotion cutoff scores and the monthly SGT/SSG promotion selection by-name list, which are determined and announced monthly.  A Soldier's total points are forwarded through the appropriate database, as determined by Human Resources Command to the automated system.  These points are consolidated into an Army-wide listing of eligible Soldiers by MOS maintained in the automated system.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that he should be promoted to SSG/E-6 has been carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support this claim. 

2.  By law and regulation, Soldiers on a promotion list at the time of retirement for disability will be retired for disability at the promotion list grade.  However, although the applicant provides a promotion list that indicates he was eligible for promotion on 1 September 2004, there is no evidence of record that he was ever promoted on that date, or that he was promotable or on a valid promotion list at the time he entered the PDES.  

3.  That promotion list was published more than 3 years before the applicant retired for disability, and presumably almost as long before his disability processing was initiated.  Yet, he provides no evidence (such as an Inspector General inquiry) to show why he was not promoted on that date or that denial of promotion on that date was improper.

4.  Further, the available record and automated data bases, including TAPDB and iPERMS, contain no entries indicating the applicant was on a valid promotion list or promotable at the time of his disability retirement.  As a result, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief. 



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)                                         AR20100020840



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100020840



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