IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 15 July 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130020665
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 amendment of her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to change her name from
Rxxxxxx, William Rxxxx" to "Rxxxxxx, Laura Lxxx."
2. The applicant states she requested and received a legal name change. As a result, her DD Form 214 does not accurately reflect her current gender, which causes her hardships when she exercises her veterans preference.
3. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214
* DD Form 363A (Certificate of Retirement), dated 1 August 1993
* Final Judgment of Change of Name (Adult), issued by the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Brevard County, FL
* a letter from a medical doctor at Trinidad Reproductive Healthcare, Trinidad, CO, dated 25 August 2008
* State of Illinois Certificate of Birth issued on 15 October 2009
* social security card issued on 28 August 2008
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. On 30 July 1973, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army. Item 1 (Name) of the applicant's DD Form 4 (Enlistment Contract Armed Forces of the United States) shows her name as "Rxxxxxx, William Roger."
3. Item 1 (Name) of the applicant's DA Form 2-1 (Personnel Qualification Record Part II) shows her name as "Rxxxxxx, William Roger."
4. On 31 July 1993, she was retired from the Army for length of service. Her DD Form 214 shows her name as "Rxxxxxx, William Roger."
5. The documents contained in her Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) identify her as "Rxxxxxx, William Roger," the name she used at the time of her enlistment and throughout her period of military service. The requested name does not appear in her MPRJ.
6. She provides her Final Judgment of Change of Name (Adult), issued by the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Brevard County, FL on 2 August 2005, which orders her name change to "Laura Lynn Rxxxxxx."
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. It establishes standardized policy for the preparation of the DD Form 214. The DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty. It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement, or discharge. It is important that information entered on the form be complete and accurate.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends her DD Form 214 should be amended to correct her name.
2. The evidence of record shows that upon her enlistment in the Army, she listed her name as "Rxxxxxx, William Roger." She did not use the requested name at any point during her period of military service.
3. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the accuracy of its records. The data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances that existed at the time the records were created. In the absence of a showing of material error or injustice, there is a reluctance to recommend that those records be changed. While it is understandable that she now desires to record her current name throughout her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records.
4. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document will be filed in her Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the difference in the name recorded in her military record and to satisfy her desire to have her current name documented in her OMPF.
5. Therefore, in the absence of convincing independent and verifiable evidence to the contrary, it is presumed her military service records, including her DD Form 214, were correct at the time and there is insufficient evidence to grant relief in this case.
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) AR20130020665
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140003649
Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). The applicant requests the name on his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) with a separation date of 29 July 1991 be changed to reflect his name as legally changed in a Decree for Change of Name from the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD filed on 3 August 1994. _______ _ X _______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090010697
The applicant requests correction to his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his court-ordered name change from "W--e W----n S--p" to W--e S---h." He requests that his Social Security Number (SSN) also be changed from "2xx-5x-9xxx" to "7xx-2x-7xxx." The evidence of record shows that the applicant completed the Seaman Course during his ADT period from 6 July to 7 August 1979 and that he was awarded MOS 61B. ___________x____________ CHAIRPERSON I...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090008265
There is no evidence of record or independent evidence provided by the applicant that shows the FSM ever made the Former Spouse SBP election directed in the divorce decree, or that the applicant requested a deemed election be made within one year of their divorce. Title 10, U.S. Code, Chapter 73, provides that a spouse loses status as an SBP beneficiary upon divorce; however, the means by which the divorced (former) spouse may receive a survivorship annuity are: (1) if the service member...
ARMY | DRB | CY2006 | 20060002994
Counsel requests reconsideration of the applicant's earlier request to correct the records of her deceased former spouse, a former service member (FSM), to show he changed his Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) election to former spouse coverage. Counsel states that the previous Board stated: "Absent consent of the widow to correct the FSM's records to provide for former spouse coverage in lieu of spouse coverage, to grant the applicant's request at this date would constitute...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140007973
The applicant requests the name be changed on a DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) with a separation date of 6 March 2006. _______ _ 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) AR20140007973 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | 20070003431C071113
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. In this regard, the evidence of record shows that the applicant’s military service records reflect the correct name and sex under which military service was performed. While the Board understands the applicant's desire to have the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140000386
The applicant requests, in effect, his military records be changed to show his name as C_____ S_____ W_____. __________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) AR20140000386 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140000386 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110011059
The applicant requests his military records and his discharge certificate be corrected to show his name as O_______i O_____i instead of S______d, J___b. _______ _ _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) AR20110011059 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)...
AF | BCMR | CY2005 | BC-2004-03212
_________________________________________________________________ APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: The period he spent in civilian confinement (26 January 2003 - 6 February 2003) should not be charged as lost time because no charges were ever filed against him after he was released. All performance ratings were an overall “5.” The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted from the applicant’s military records, are contained in the letters prepared by the appropriate offices...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140009895
The applicant requests correction of her DD Form 214 (Certificate or Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to conform to a court-ordered name change. Once a DD Form 214 has been issued, it will not be reissued except under specified circumstances, including when it is determined that the original DD Form 214 cannot be properly corrected by issuing a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214). As a result, the Board recommends that the Department of the Army records of the individual...