IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  31 March 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140014372 


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 her DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to show her:

* last name as B______n vice U____y
* home of record (HOR) as an address in Texas vice 6XXX Edgewater Drive, Mt Olive, Illinois

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  She was married in January 2002 before she was discharged from the military in November 2002.  On 14 January 2002, she filed a DA Form 4187 (Personnel Action) [to change her last name].  On 10 July 2002, she received a memorandum for record to begin clearing without orders.  As of that date forward, her last name appears as U____y and not her married name of B______n.  For her address change, she is sending proof via tax forms and a copy of her driver’s license that was used to inprocess her.  She lived and worked in Texas.  Her grandmother lives in Illinois.  She was visiting her grandmother when she joined the service; however, that is not her HOR.  She would like her records to reflect the correct information.
   
   b.  She was recently selected to go through a Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review and they determined she was now medically retired at 30 percent (%).  As her spouse still serves on active duty, it has caused conflict with Tricare, Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), mil.connect, ebenefits, and MyPay, as early as July 2014.  The U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA) has sent her orders showing the change of name on Orders D154-08.  After 13 years of being a B______n and 18 years of being a resident of Texas, she would like her record to reflect that as well as having her last name changed in Tricare, DEERS, mil.connect, ebenefits, and MyPay.  If she speaks with a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) representative or anyone else about herself, she has to carry a seven-volume binder of all her military records just to show her name is incorrect on her DD Form 214 and now her DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214).
   
   c.  It was not her fault for not standing up to military personnel for corrections that need to be made.  As a private first class (PFC), if you are told to do something you do it.  She did not know at the time how two simple blocks of information would impact her life.  Mr. RL, a contractor at Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA), has been most helpful in getting information for orders and DD Form 215.  However, she needs her records changed in the additional areas as stated above.  She is also having a hard time understanding and finding someone to explain to her the new benefit and why it changed.  

3.  The applicant provides two DA Forms 4187, a marriage license, a memorandum, a birth certificate, social security card, three driver’s licenses, a page titled Applicant Information, page 1 of DD Form 1966 (Record of Military Processing – Armed Forces of the United States), DA Form 348-1 (Equipment Operator’s Qualification Record), and six pages of various tax statements/forms.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Delayed Entry Program (DEP) on 26 March 2001.  Her DD Form 4 (Enlistment/Reenlistment Document – Armed Forces of the United States) shows her last name as U_____ and her HOR as 6XXXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL.

2.  Page 1 of her DD Form 1966, dated 26 March 2001, shows her last name as U____y, her current address and HOR address as 6XXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL, she was single and had no dependents, and that she had a valid Texas driver’s license.

3.  On page 2 of the DD Form 1966 she listed that she had attended high schools in Gillespie, IL, and Lockport, IL, from August 1993 to June 1997 and that she had provided a divorce decree and custody documents.  She authenticated this form by placing her signature in the appropriate block with her last name as U____y.  

4.  In conjunction with her enlistment in the USAR DEP, she completed a Standard Form (SF) 86 (Security Clearance Application) on 23 March 2001 wherein she listed:

* her last name as U____y
* she used the last name of B______n from 25 May 1997 to 24 November 1999
* she had lived at  6XXXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL, since 2 February 2001
* she married D___K B______n on 27 May 1997 and divorced him on 24 November 1999
* her mother and stepfather’s address as  6XXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL

5.  She was discharged from the USAR DEP on 2 April 2001.  She enlisted in the Regular Army (RA) on 3 April 2001.  Page 3 of her DD Form 4 shows she signed this form on 3 April 2001 using the last name of U____y.

6.  Her record contains numerous orders, personnel, legal, and medical documents that all show her last name as U____y.  

7.  The applicant provides a marriage certificate that shows she and D____k B______n were married on 11 January 2002.

8.  She also provides a DA Form 4187, dated 14 January 2002, requesting her last name be changed from U____y to B______n on all official records and a new identification card be issued.  The applicant signed the form using the last name U____y and her commander recommended approval of the action.  However, this DA Form 4187 is not located in her records and there is no evidence that shows it was ever processed.

9.  She provides a Memorandum for Record, dated 10 July 2002, signed by her immediate commander authorizing her to clear without orders.  Her name is listed on the memorandum with her last name as U____y.

10.  Her record contains a DD Form 2648 (Preseparation Counseling Checklist), dated 10 July 2002, that shows her last name as U____y.  She signed the form on that date using the last name U____y to verify she received preseparation counseling.

11.  Her Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) dated 17 October 2002 shows her last name as U____y.

12.  Orders 291-0004, 18 October 2002, issued by Headquarters, 24th Infantry Division and Fort Riley, Fort Riley, KS, reassigned her to the U.S. Army Transition Point, Fort Riley, for transition processing and discharge from active duty on 19 November 2002.  These orders show her last name as U____y.

13.  She was honorably discharged on 19 November 2002 by reason of disability with entitlement to severance pay.  The DD Form 214 she was issued shows in:

* item 1 (Name) her last name as U____y
* item 7b (HOR at Time of Entry) - 6XXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL
* item 19a (Mailing Address After Separation) - 6XXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL
* item 19b (Nearest Relative) – D____k B______n, 1XXX Hosmer Lane, Cresthill, IL
* item 21(Signature of Member being Separated) that the applicant signed the form using the last name of U____y

14.  On 31 May 2013, a DD Form 215 was issued to show she was retired on 19 November 2002 by reason of permanent disability and placed on the Retired List vice honorably discharged with entitlement to severance pay.  This DD Form 215 shows her last name as U____y.

15.  The applicant provides a Texas Driver’s License, dated 14 August 2012, and other forms of identification which all show her last name as B______n.

16.  Army Regulation 601-280 (Army Retention Program) prescribes the criteria for the Army retention program.  Table 11-1 of this regulation defines the HOR as
the place recorded as the home of the individual when commissioned, appointed, 
enlisted, inducted, or ordered into the relevant tour of active duty (emphasis added).  The place recorded as the home of the individual when reinstated, reappointed, or reenlisted remains the same as that recorded when commissioned, appointed, enlisted, or inducted or ordered into the relevant tour of active duty unless there is a break in service of more than one full day.  Only if a break in service exceeds one full day can the home of record be changed by the member.

17.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) at the time established the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  The DD Form 214 is prepared for all personnel at the time of their retirement, discharge, or release from active duty.  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 states in item 7b of the DD Form 214 enter the HOR at time of entry on active duty.  The HOR is not always the same as the legal domicile as defined for income tax purposes.  Legal domicile may change during a Soldier’s career.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  With respect to the last name during her active duty service (April 2001 to November 2002): 

	a.  The evidence of record confirms when the applicant enlisted in the USAR DEP and the RA she listed her last name as U____y and this is the name she used throughout her active duty service.  She authenticated many documents to include her DD Form 214 by placing her signature in the appropriate block with her last name as U___y.  The DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty.  

	b.  While she may have married on 11 January 2002 and provides a DA Form 4187 that shows she requested a name change, the evidence of record does not show and she hasn’t provided any evidence that shows the DA Form 4187 was processed or that she used any other last name than U____y during her active duty service.  Her last name is correctly shown as U____y on her DD Form 214.  

	c.  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.  While it is understandable that she now desires to record a different last name in her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records.

	d.  The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document will be filed in her Official Military Personnel File.  This should serve to clarify any questions or confusion in regard to the difference in the last name recorded in her military record and to satisfy her desire to have her last name listed as it is on the documents she provided.

2.  With respect to her HOR, by law and regulation the HOR is the place recorded as the home of the individual at the time of enlistment or induction, appointment, or entry on active duty, and there is no authority to change the HOR officially recorded at the time of entry into military service unless it is based on evidence that a bona fide error was made.  In this case, the evidence of record confirms the applicant identified her HOR as 6XXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL, when she enlisted in the USAR DEP and when she enlisted in the RA.  Accordingly, when her DD Form 214 was prepared her HOR was correctly listed as 6XXX Edgewater Dr., Mt Olive, IL.  There is neither an error nor an injustice or a reason to change the HOR listed on her DD Form 214.  Therefore, she is not entitled to the requested relief.

3.  With respect to her requests to change her last name in Tricare, DEERS, mil.connect, ebenefits, and MyPay, and questions about her benefits, this is outside the purview of the ABCMR.  The ABCMR corrects records, it does not have control over other agency databases.  The applicant is advised to contact the appropriate agency regarding changes to her name:  

	a.  If the applicant wishes to change her VA records to show her desired last name, she is advised to contact the VA.  Changes to VA records are not within the purview of this Board.

	b.  If the applicant wishes to change her retired pay records at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (i.e., MyPay) to reflect her current name, she is advised that a retired service member can request a change to their official military records at any time.  Changes include information such as name, social security number, date and/or place of birth.  She can submit her request in letter format or on a Standard Form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records), together with supporting evidence to the Commander, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, ATTN: AHRC-PDR-V, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122.  

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)                                         AR20140014372





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140014372



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