BOARD DATE:	  6 September 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110004011 


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 correction of her erroneous discharge and reinstatement into the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, her 4-year bachelors degree was incorrectly coded in her file.  She was advised she was ineligible for promotion to captain (CPT) by the 2008, 2009, and 2010 promotion boards.  She was "above the zone" for each of these boards and she should have been recognized as fully eligible for promotion consideration.  However, due to this technical error she was prevented from putting in a packet.  As she was trying to move from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) to a Troop Program Unit she was discharged due to being non-selected for promotion to CPT twice.  

3.  The applicant provides:

* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)
* USAR Discharge Orders
* College Transcripts
* Honorable Discharge Certificate
* E-mail exchanged with various individuals

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Having had prior enlisted service, the applicant was appointed as a second lieutenant in the North Carolina Army National Guard (NCARNG) and as a Reserve of the Army, and executed an oath of office on 20 December 2002.  
2.  She entered active duty on 22 October 2003 and subsequently served in Kuwait/Iraq from 16 February 2004 to 19 March 2005.  She was promoted to first lieutenant (1LT) on 20 December 2004, honorably released from active duty on 
1 June 2005, and transferred to her unit.

3.  On 31 December 2005, she was honorably separated from the NCARNG and transferred to the USAR Control Group (Reinforcement).

4.  She was considered for promotion to CPT by the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Reserve Components Selection Promotion Board (RCSB) that convened on 
6 November 2007; the board results were released on 31 December 2007.  She was not selected for promotion.

5.  She was also considered for promotion to CPT by the FY 2009 RCSB that convened on 6 November 2008.  The results were released on 16 April 2009, but she was not selected.

6.  On 8 September 2009, an Army Human Resources Command (HRC) official notified the applicant by e-mail that a review of her records indicated she was not educationally qualified for the upcoming FY 2010 RCSB, scheduled for 3 November 2009.  The regulation required a bachelors degree or higher.  

7.  By return e-mail, the applicant notified the sender that she graduated with a bachelor's degree in August 2003 and that her college transcripts were filed in her official military personnel file (OMPF).

8.  She was considered for promotion to CPT by the FY 2010 RCSB that convened on 3 November 2009, and the results were released on 8 April 2010; but she was not selected.

9.  She was honorably discharged from the USAR on 8 February 2011.  Her discharge orders do not specifically show the reason for discharge.

10.  On 22 February 2011, she petitioned HRC for a review of her discharge from the Army.  An HRC official responded by stating that it appeared she was educationally qualified but her college transcripts were not filed correctly.  The HRC official also stated the applicant was eligible for promotion consideration by the FY 2008, FY 2009, and FY 2010 CPT Promotion Boards, in or above the zone.  

11.  Army Regulation 135-155 (Promotion of Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers Other Than General Officers) prescribes the policies and procedures for the promotion of Reserve officers.  The regulation, in effect at the time, specifies promotion from 1LT to CPT required completion of a minimum of 2 years in the lower grade and a maximum of 5 years in the lower grade.  Any person, who fails to be selected for promotion to the rank of CPT twice, will not be considered again for promotion.  All officers not qualified for retention will be removed from an active status within a specified period after the selection board submits its results to Headquarters, Department of the Army.

12.  Army Regulation 135-155 states that promotion reconsideration by a special selection board (SSB) may only be based on erroneous non-consideration or material error, which existed in the record at the time of consideration.  Material error in this context is one or more errors of such a nature that, in the judgment of the reviewing official (or body), it caused an individual’s non-selection by a promotion board and, that had such error(s) been corrected at the time the individual was considered, a reasonable chance would have resulted that the individual would have been recommended for promotion.  The regulation also provides that boards are not required to divulge the proceedings or the reason(s) for non-selection, except where an individual is not qualified due to non-completion of required civilian and/or military schooling.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

The applicant completed her bachelor's degree in business in August 2003.  It appears her transcripts were improperly filed on her OMPF.  When she was considered for promotion to CPT she was found educationally not qualified and thus ineligible for promotion.  She was ultimately discharged because she failed to be selected for promotion to the rank of CPT twice.  It appears an administrative error denied her the opportunity to be promoted and to continue to serve.  Therefore, she should be entitled to an SSB for promotion reconsideration to CPT based on the 2008, 2009, and 2010 RCSB year criteria.

BOARD VOTE:

___x____  ____x__  ___x_____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION




BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.  ensuring the applicant's OMPF is complete and accurate and that it includes her college transcripts;

	b.  submitting her record to a duly-constituted SSB for promotion reconsideration to CPT based on the 2008, 2009, and 2010 year criteria;

	c.  if she is selected for promotion, correcting her records show she met all the eligibility criteria for promotion (e.g., being assigned to a CPT's position or being in an active status) effective the date of release of the applicable promotion selection board, promoting her to CPT with the appropriate date of rank, and paying her any associated back pay and allowances as a result of the corrections; and

	d.  if selected and the applicant meets all prerequisites for promotion, her records should be further corrected by:

		(1)  showing the discharge issued by the U.S. Army Reserve is void and of no force or effect,

		(2)  crediting her with qualifying service for Reserve retirement for her respective retirement years from the dates of her now-voided discharge to the date of return to the active Reserve;

		(3)  placing an adequate explanation in her OMPF explaining the gap in her officer evaluation reports from the dates of her now-voided discharge to the date of return to an active Reserve status, showing the gap was caused due to no fault of the applicant, and ensuring she is not prejudiced in the consideration of any future personnel actions; and

		(4)  expunging documents related to her now-voided non-selection for promotion and her discharge from her OMPF, if applicable.






2.  If the applicant is not selected by any of the duly-constituted SSB's she should be so notified.


      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20110004011



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110004011



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