IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 12 May 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140017317
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, that her military records be corrected to show her current name.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that she desires correction of her military records to reflect her current married name. She also states that she was married three times while serving and has now married a fourth time.
3. The applicant provides copies of her separation documents, a name change request that was provided to her civilian employer, her drivers license, social security card, high school diploma, union card, marriage license, a death certificate, leave and earnings statement, chronological statement of retirement points, discharge certificates, miscellaneous diplomas, and transcripts.
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 9 December 1980. She completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and her advanced individual training as a finance specialist at Fort Benjamin, Harrison.
3. She remained on active duty through a series of continuous reenlistments and was honorably released from active duty on 9 November 1990 due to the expiration of her term of service. She was transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve and subsequently enlisted in the Army National Guard where she served until she was discharged on 31 May 2008.
4. Her official records were prepared to reflect the name she was serving under at the time. She married her current spouse on 9 January 2008; however, there is no evidence to show that she requested a name change prior to discharge.
5. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) at the time served as the authority for the preparation of the DD Form 214. It provides that the DD Form 214 will be prepared to reflect information that is current as of the effective date of separation. Changes that occur subsequent to the date of separation will not be entered on that form retroactively unless the change occurred during the period covered by that form and the change was approved by the appropriate authority.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicants records reflect the names in which she served under at the time she was separated and her DD Form 214 correctly reflects that information. Her name was legally changed when she married just prior to her discharge from the Army National Guard; however, there is no evidence to show that she submitted a request for a legal name change of her military records after her fourth marriage. Accordingly, there is no error or injustice in her case.
2. 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 the applicant desires to now change her name in her military records, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason for compromising the integrity of the Army's records at this late date.
3. The applicant is advised that a copy of this decisional document along with her application 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 name recorded in her military record and to satisfy her desire to have her current name documented in her official records. Accordingly, 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) AR20140017317
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140017317
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