IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  23 July 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120014844 


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 reconsideration for promotion to captain (CPT).

2.  The applicant states that:

* he was a two-time non-select for promotion to CPT
* the time frame for selection was changed, thus reducing the time he had to complete his degree 
* his education was interrupted four times because of military orders, obligations, illness, injuries, and an 18-month deployment
* he was scheduled to attain his degree in September 2012
   
3.  The applicant provides:

* a DA Form 2B (Personnel Qualification Record)
* a Reserve Status Statement and Election of Options
* eleven emails
* three memoranda for record
* two memoranda 
* one All Army Activities (ALARACT) message
* one military personnel (MILPER) message
* a page from the U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) Website
* a letter of completion request
* an application for diploma
* a 3-page worksheet

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant initially enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) on 
15 January 1986 and served until he was commissioned as a second lieutenant (2LT) in the USAR on 14 November 2005.  He was promoted to 1LT on 14 April 2008.  

2.  ALARACT Message Number 092/2005, dated May 2005, clarified the existing requirement for officers to have a baccalaureate degree prior to promotion to CPT and the current waiver process.  The ALARACT message stated:

	a.  Title 10, U.S. Code 12205 required all USAR officers to have a baccalaureate degree prior to promotion to CPT, effective 1 May 2005; and 

	b.  the current waiver process remained in effect.  All officers were required to submit a detailed degree completion plan that allowed for completion of degree requirements within 24 months upon the approval of the waiver.

3.  MILPER Message Number 11-265, dated 31 August 2011, announced the policy, criteria, and zones of consideration for the Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) CPT Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS), USAR Active Guard Reserve, USAR Non-Active Guard Reserve, and Army Promotion List (APL) Competitive Category Promotion Selection Boards.  The MILPER Message stated:

	a.  In accordance with Army Regulation 135-155 (Promotion of Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers Other Than General Officers), the military education (MILED) requirements for promotion selection to CPT are outlined in Table 2-2.  MILED and civilian education must be completed no later than the day before the board convenes (October 2011).  The civilian education requirement is a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.  Officers not educationally qualified will not be selected for promotion.  Civilian education must be submitted to HRC no later than 21 October 2011.

	b.  The promotion board will utilize the My Board File (MBF) application which is comprised of the official photograph, officer record brief, and documents from the performance section of the official military personnel file (OMPF), currently known as the Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR). 

	c.  All documents must be submitted using the correct process no later than 21 October 2011.  The MBF will close 5 days prior to the convene date of the board scheduled for 27 October 2011.  The board file opens on September 2011 and closes on 27 October 2011. 
4.  IWS shows that on: 

	a.  9 March 2010, his career manager fielded questions regarding the promotion boards and time zones for promotion;

	b.  20 April 2012 and 5 June 2012, his career manager advised him, by email, of the need to have a 4-year degree uploaded into iPERMS.  He received the email because his career manager was unable to find his baccalaureate diploma or a transcript of his completed baccalaureate degree in iPERMS.  Without correcting this he would not be considered civilian-educationally qualified for promotion to the grade of CPT or higher; and 

	c.  30 August 2012, his career manager emailed him seeking the status of his civilian education.  He was educationally unqualified based upon his file as currently constituted.

5.  He submitted eleven emails between him and his career branch manager, which state, in pertinent part, on:

	a.  19 October 2010 and 20 September 2011, he was informed that he was not educationally qualified for the CPT APL promotion boards due to non-receipt of proof of his bachelor or higher degree;  

   b.  20 June 2012, he was informed that he was a two-time non-select for promotion to CPT;  

	c.  21 June 2012, he told his career manager his two-time non-selection for promotion was due his inability to complete his degree due to a mobilization in 2004 to 2005, attendance of Basic Officer Leadership Courses in 2007 and 2008, and medical issues in 2010.  However, he expected to complete his degree and graduate in September 2012; and 

	d.   22 June 2002, he was told he could apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) regarding his situation, but unless the Army Review Boards Agency allowed his continued service, he could expect to be discharged in September 2012. 

6.  He submitted:  

   a.  a memorandum, dated 19 June 2012, from Headquarters, 88th Regional Support Command (RSC), Subject:  Options upon Non-Selection for Promotion After Second Consideration, which provides information on options regarding his two-time non-selection.  On 30 July 2012, he completed the attached Reserve Status Statement and Election of Options and elected to be reassigned to the Retired Reserve.

   b.  the following documents from the Cardinal Stritch University:
   
   	(1)  a Letter of Completion Request, dated 25 July 2012, granting the University permission to send a letter of completion to the USAR;
   
   	(2)  an Application for Diploma, dated 1 June 2012, which shows he applied to receive his Bachelor of Science Degree in Management in August 2012; and 
   
   	(3)  an Advising Worksheet, dated 7 August 2012, which shows had 119 career hours and was enrolled in the Capstone Strategic Organizational Course.
   
	c.  a copy of HRC's Command Website, Subject:  Updated Baccalaureate Degree Requirements for Officers Commissioned Through Army Officer Candidate School, wherein he highlighted, Title 10, United States Code (USC), Section 12205 (10 USC 12205) requires a Baccalaureate Degree for appointment to a grade above the grade of 1LT in the Army Reserve.  However, effective 1 May 2005, no Regular Army (RA) officer may be promoted to CPT unless awarded a Baccalaureate Degree by an accredited educational institution in accordance with ALARACT Message 092/2005.  Effective 29 May 2005, the Secretary of the Army (SA) delegated waiver authority of the statutory education requirements for CPT to the CG, HRC, in an effort to allow officers who have demonstrated substantial progress towards completion of degree requirements to be promoted to CPT.  As such, these officers are required to submit a detailed completion plan within 24 months of the requested waiver before the applicable officer can be promoted to CPT.

7.  He submitted three memoranda, dated 19 October 2011, 6 August 2012, and 7 August 2012 respectively, wherein he indicated he submitted waivers to HRC, Officer Promotion Special Actions Agency,  Subject:  Wavier of Statutory Education Requirements for Promotion to CPT, for both the FY11 and FY12 Reserve Component CPT, ARNGUS, USAR AGR, and USAR Non-Active Guard Reserve, Army Promotions Selections boards.  However, there is no record that his requests for waiver were ever forwarded to Officer Promotions for final adjudication.

8.  His record is void of evidence that he attained a baccalaureate degree. 

9.  An advisory opinion was received from HRC regarding the applicant's request for waiver of his civilian education for promotion to CPT which stated:
	a.  his assertion, that he was disadvantaged by not being granted a civilian education a waiver for his bachelor degree, was without merit and moot;

	b.  he stated he submitted a waiver for both the FY11 and FY12 Reserve Component CPT, ARNGUS, USAR AGR, and Army Reserve Non-Active Guard Reserve, Army Promotion Selections boards, which convened on 2 November 2010 and 1 November 2011 respectively.  However, there is no record that his requests for waiver were ever forwarded to Officer Promotions for final adjudication; and

   c.  based upon the applicant being a direct commission and not an Officer Candidate School (OCS) graduate, his requests for a civilian education waiver would have been deemed ineligible and subsequently denied even if they were received in accordance with Section 512 of the FY12 National Defense Authorization Act and Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 12205(a).

10.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 12205 states:

	a.  No person may be appointed to a grade above the grade of 1LT in the USAR, Air Force Reserve, or Marine Corps Reserve or to a grade above the grade of lieutenant (junior grade) in the Navy Reserve, or be federally recognized in a grade above the grade of 1LT as a member of the ARNG or Air National Guard, unless that person has been awarded a baccalaureate degree by a qualifying educational institution.

	b.  Waiver Authority for Army OCS Graduates and Certain Marine Corps Officers.  The Secretary of the Army may waive the applicability of subsection (a) to any officer whose original appointment in the Army as a Reserve officer is through the Army OCS program.

11.  Army Regulation 135-155 prescribes the policies and procedures for the promotion of Reserve officers.  Paragraph 2-9 states no person may be selected for promotion to the Reserve grade of CPT unless, not later than the day before the selection board convene date, that person has been awarded a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution recognized by the Secretary of Education or, within the 3 years preceding promotion, the officer has earned a baccalaureate degree from an unaccredited educational institution that has been recognized by the Department of Defense for purposes of meeting officer educational requirements. 

12.  Army Regulation 135-155 further states a 1LT on the Reserve Active Status List who has failed selection for promotion to CPT for the second time and whose name is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to CPT, will be removed from active status not later than the first day of the seventh month after the month in which the final approval authority approves the report of the board which considered the officer for the second time unless the officer can be credited with 18 or more but less than 20 years of qualifying service for retired pay and USAR officers will be transferred to the Retired Reserve.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In view of the circumstances in this case, the applicant is not entitled to a civilian education waiver and promotion reconsideration to CPT.  He was fairly considered twice for promotion to CPT and not selected.  He has not shown error, injustice, or inequity for the relief he now requests.  Without evidence to show otherwise, it is concluded that the applicant was properly considered for promotion.

2.  His contentions that the demands of military obligations, illness, and mobilizations affected his available time to work on his degree have been noted.  However, the evidence shows he was advised as early as June 2010 of the importance of completing his civilian education.  This statutory requirement is not waivable in his case.

3.  His discharge for being twice non-selected for promotion was proper and equitable.  Therefore, there is no basis for granting the applicant's 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)                                         AR20120014844





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120014844



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