BOARD DATE: 10 February 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140010922
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 DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show his last name as W____.
2. The applicant states he recently changed his last name to his birth father's last name. His new last name is W____.
3. The applicant provides:
* court name change order
* social security card
* birth certificate
* New York driver's license
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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 14 January 2004 under the last name of R____.
3. He was honorably released from active duty (REFRAD) on 26 March 2011. Item 1 (Name Last, First, Middle) of his DD Form 214 shows his last name as R____.
4. He provided a court order, dated 16 April 2014, changing his last name to W____.
5. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army. It established standardized policy for preparation of the DD Form 214 and stated 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The DD Form 214 is a "snapshot in time" and is a reflection of the applicant's record of active Army service at the time of his REFRAD.
2. The evidence shows he changed his last name in 2014, 3 years after his REFRAD in 2011. Therefore, there is no basis for amending item 1 of his DD Form 214.
3. For historical purposes, the Army has an interest in maintaining the integrity 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.
4. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document which confirms his legal name change will be filed in his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion regarding the difference in the name recorded in his OMPF and to satisfy his desire to have his current legal name documented in his military records.
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) AR20140010922
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140010922
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