IN THE CASE OF:	 

		BOARD DATE:	     2 July 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120020216


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, retroactive promotion to the rank/grade of staff sergeant (SSG)/E-6 and correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show this adjusted rank/grade.

2.  The applicant states:

* his record is in error due to his chain of command not following the proper protocol in advancing him to the next rank during his time in service
* he is submitting several of his DA Forms 2166-8 (Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER)) that demonstrate his competence as an NCO and as a Soldier
* he met the time-in-service (TIS) and time-in-grade (TIG) requirements for promotion to SSG – the only prerequisite he did not meet was graduation from the Warrior Leader Course (WLC)
* on numerous occasions, he requested to attend WLC – however, his chain of command would not authorize him to attend due to the physical profile he received after being wounded during combat operations
* he was not able to participate in an airborne operation due to his injuries and he was not allowed to attend WLC as a result
* he met the 5-month TIG requirement as a sergeant (SGT) and he met the 48-month TIS requirement
* he had no adverse actions in his record that would have impeded his ability to be promoted – in fact, he received two Army Good Conduct Medals between 23 September 2003 and 22 September 2009

3.  The applicant provides his NCOER's for the following periods:

* 1 January 2006 through 31 December 2006
* 1 January 2008 through 29 April 2008
* 1 May 2008 through 30 April 2009
* 1 May 2009 through 30 April 2010

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 23 September 2003.  He completed initial entry training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B (Infantryman).

2.  On 1 January 2006, he was promoted to the rank/grade of SGT/E-5.

3.  His records show he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on two occasions:

* from 21 September 2005 through 14 February 2006
* from 2 January 2007 through 18 March 2008

4.  On 1 May 2011, he was retired by reason of temporary disability in the rank/grade of SGT/E-5.  On 2 May 2011, he was placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List in the rank/grade of SGT/E-5.  His DD Form 214 contains the following entries:

* item 4a (Grade, Rate or Rank) – "SGT"
* item 4b (Pay Grade) – "E05"
* item 12h (Effective Date of Pay Grade) – "2006  01  01"

5.  His records are void of documentation that shows:

* a DA Form 3349 (Physical Profile) identifying the physical limitations imposed on him after he was wounded in Iraq
* he attended and completed WLC
* he was repeatedly denied attendance at WLC
* he appeared before a semi-centralized promotion board (usually conducted at battalion level)
* a board recommended him for promotion to the rank/grade of SSG/E-6
* he was assigned an appropriate number of administrative points based on his performance before a semi-centralized promotion board
* those administrative points were uploaded into the Electronic Military Personnel Office database for inclusion in his Enlisted Record Brief (ERB)
* he was in a promotable status at the time he was retired from the Army

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-19 (Enlisted Promotions and Reductions) prescribes policies and procedures governing promotion and reduction of Army enlisted personnel.  Chapter 3 governs the SGT and SSG semi-centralized promotion system for Active Army Soldiers.

	a.  Field-grade commanders in units authorized a commander in the rank/grade of lieutenant colonel/O-5 or higher have promotion authority to the ranks of SGT and SSG.  However, the promotion work center maintains the recommended list and issues the orders.

	b.  Promotions to the rank/grade of SGT and SSG are executed in a semi-centralized manner.

		(1)  Field operations will handle board appearance, promotion point calculation, and promotion list maintenance.  However, final execution of the promotion occurs in the field in a Decentralized manner.

		(2)  Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA), operations will handle promotion cutoff scores and the monthly SGT/SSG promotion selection by-name list which are determined and announced monthly.

		(3)  HQDA and the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) will determine the needs of the Army by grade and MOS.

		(4)  A Soldier's total points are forwarded through the appropriate database, as determined by HRC, to the automated system.  These points are consolidated into an Army-wide listing of eligible Soldiers by MOS maintained in the automated system.  A determination is then made for each MOS as to what promotion point cutoff score would promote the desired number of Soldiers to meet the needs of the Army in a specific month.  These decisions are based primarily upon budget constraints and individual MOS requirements.

	c.  Paragraph 3-10 governs the eligibility requirements for promotion to SSG.  Table 3-3 states that a Soldier must be a graduate of WLC prior to board appearance for SSG.  WLC may be waived for deployed Soldiers by the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, for 270 days after redeployment.

7.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) prescribes the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army.  Paragraph 2-4h provides detailed instructions and source document(s) for completing each block of the DD Form 214.  Subparagraph 2-4h(4) states items 4a and 4b contain the active duty grade or rank and pay grade at the time of separation, taken from the ERB.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for retroactive promotion to the rank/grade of SSG/E-6 and correction of his DD Form 214 to show this adjusted rank/grade was carefully considered.

2.  The evidence of record shows he did not attend or graduate from WLC.  Consequently, he never appeared before, or was recommended for promotion to SSG by a battalion-level SSG semi-centralized promotion board.

3.  He contends he was otherwise eligible for promotion with the exception of being a WLC graduate.  However, due to his physical profile limitations, his chain of command repeatedly denied his requests to attend WLC.

4.  The governing regulation clearly requires Soldiers to be graduates of WLC prior to board appearance.  Deployed Soldiers may request a waiver; however, he redeployed from Iraq on 18 March 2008, so any previously-requested waiver for WLC attendance would have expired 9 months after his redeployment.

5.  Unfortunately, he provides no evidence and his records contain no evidence that he requested or was authorized a waiver for WLC attendance.  Additionally, his records do not contain his physical profile that addresses his physical limitations or shows he was unable to attend WLC.

6.  Regardless, he did not meet the criteria for promotion to SSG and he has not provided a compelling reason, substantiated by evidence, to waive the education requirements adhered to by other Soldiers, retired for disability or not.  Accordingly, there is an insufficient basis at this time to grant 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 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)                                         AR20100015543



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120020216




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