IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  3 January 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120009542 


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 his records to show he was granted the appropriate amount of constructive credit and proper rank upon reentry in the U.S. Army.

2.  The applicant states he served on active duty as a commissioned officer of the Officer Reserve Corps (ORC) during World War II.  He was separated in the rank of first lieutenant (1LT)/pay grade O-2 on 27 May 1946.

   a.  He completed his senior year at the University of Illinois and received a bachelor degree.  He entered McCormick Theological Seminary, graduated with a Master of Divinity degree on 5 May 1950, and was ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church on 14 May 1950.

   b.  He was ordered to active duty on 3 November 1950 as a 1LT in the Armor (AR) Branch.  However, the senior pastor of the 1st Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming, arranged the necessary delay for him in reporting to active duty in order to process a change of branch from AR to the Chaplain Corps.  He received the endorsement of his church to serve as a fully-qualified chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces.

   c.  He was ordered to active duty on 5 March 1951 in the rank of 1LT as a chaplain at Fort Riley, Kansas.  He maintains that he should have been promoted and ordered to active duty in the rank of captain (CPT)/pay grade O-3.

   d.  He states that his son-in-law graduated in 1990 with a law degree and was appointed as a CPT in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.  His grandson graduated in 2010 with a degree in dentistry and was appointed as a lieutenant senior grade in the U.S. Navy.  As a result, the applicant realized that his professional status in the U.S. Armed Forces called for his promotion to the rank of CPT when he reentered active duty.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his appointment documents, active duty orders, and DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant's military service records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, the applicant's two separation documents, along with the documents the applicant provides, offer sufficient evidence for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  A WD AGO Form Number 55 (Enlisted Record) shows the applicant enlisted in the Army of the United States (AUS) on 12 September 1942 and he was honorably discharged on 23 June 1944 to attend Armor Officer Candidate School.  He had completed 1 year and 9 days of service for pay.

4.  A WD AGO Form 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation - Certificate of Service) shows the applicant entered active duty on 24 June 1944 and he was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on 27 May 1946.  It also shows he was separated in the grade of 1LT and transferred to the ORC.

He had completed 1 year, 2 months, and 16 days of continental service and
8 months and 18 days of foreign service.

5.  A DD Form 214 shows the applicant entered active duty on 5 March 1951, he was honorably REFRAD on 4 August 1952, and transferred to the ORC.  He had completed 1 year and 5 months of net active service this period.  It also shows in:

   a.  item 3 (Grade - Rate - Rank and Date of Appointment):  Chaplain, 1LT, 
8 June 1950;

   b.  item 4 (Component and Branch or Class):  ORC, Chaplain;

   c.  item 28 (Most Significant Duty Assignment):  "Chaplain";

   d.  item 30 (Service School or Colleges, College Training Courses and/or Post-Grad Courses Successfully Completed - Dates -  Major Course):  The Chaplain School, Fort Slocum, New York, May - June 1951, Basic Chaplain;

   e.  item 38 (Remarks):

* Temporary Grade:  1LT AUS
* Permanent Grade:  1LT ORC
* Appointed 8 June 1950

   f.  item 41 (Dates of Last Civilian Employment):  1950 to 1951;

   g.  item 42 (Main Civilian Occupation):  Clergyman, 0-08.100;

   h.  item 43 (Name and Address of Last Civilian Employer):  Hawk Springs and Yoder, Presbyterian Community Church, Wyoming; and

   i.  item 46 (Non-Service Education - Years - Degrees):  College - 7 Years; Bachelor of Science and Divinity.

6.  In support of his application the applicant provides the following documents:

   a.  Headquarters, Fifth Army, Chicago, Illinois, Special Orders Number 224, dated 3 November 1950, paragraph 17, that ordered the applicant to active duty on 2 December 1950, in the grade he held in the ORC (1LT), to serve for a period of 21 months. The orders show, "Any of the following officers who are members of the Inactive Reserve are transferred to the Active Reserve in grade and section (branch) indicated effective on date of entry on Active Duty.  On effective date of duty officer will proceed from present location indicated.  Where date of rank is not shown, computation will be made by officer's first duty station in accordance with paragraph 8, Service Regulation 135-210-1, and appropriate entries on personnel records.  Where records are not available, date of rank will be computed based on certificate from officer attesting to amount of Federal Service performed in current or higher grade.  When deemed necessary, confirmation may be made by requesting information from The Adjutant General."

   b.  Department of the Army, Office of The Adjutant General, Washington, DC, letter, dated 14 February 1951, that shows the applicant was transferred from the AR Branch to the Chaplain Corps of the ORC in the grade of 1LT effective 
14 February 1951.

   c.  Headquarters, Wyoming Military District, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Letter Order Entry on Active Duty (LO EAD) Number 94, dated 1 March 1951, that shows the applicant was ordered to active duty on 5 March 1951 in the rank of 1LT, per Headquarters, Fifth Army, Chicago, Illinois, Special Orders Number 224, paragraph 17, dated 3 November 1950; as amended by Headquarters, Wyoming Military District, LO EAD Number 928, dated 22 November 1950; LO EAD Number 954, dated 28 December 1950; and LO EAD Number 50, dated
29 January 1951.

7.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) 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 his records should be corrected to show he was granted constructive credit for his education and appointed as a chaplain in the rank of CPT.

2.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was ordered to active duty in the AR Branch in the grade of 1LT on 2 December 1950, his reentry on active duty was delayed pending his transfer to the Chaplain Corps, he was appointed to the Chaplain Corps in the rank of 1LT on 14 February 1951 by The Adjutant General of the Army, and ordered to active duty on 5 March 1951.


3.  The evidence of record shows, in the applicant's case, computation of his grade would be made by the officer's first duty station in accordance with Service Regulation 135-210-1 and appropriate entries on personnel records, or by confirmation of information from The Adjutant General.
   
4.  Records shows The Adjutant General of the Army gave the applicant an adjusted date of rank of 8 June 1950, a date that was about 9 months prior to his reentry on active duty,

5.  Thus, based on the available evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that the applicant's prior service and additional civilian education were considered when The Adjutant General confirmed the applicant's grade and adjusted his date of rank for his reentry on active duty.

6.  Appointment grades change over time, based upon the needs of the Army.  There is no evidence of record, and the applicant provides insufficient evidence, 60 years later to show he should have been appointed in the grade of CPT.

7.  The regulations governing the Board's operation require that the accession/ reentry process must be presumed to have been in accordance with applicable law and regulations unless the applicant can provide evidence to overcome that presumption.  Therefore, considering all the facts of this case and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the applicant's grade and date of rank appear to have been, and still are, appropriate.

8.  Therefore, in view of all of the foregoing, there is no basis for 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)                                         AR20120009542



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120009542



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