IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  25 June 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140017382


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 the transfer of her general officer memorandum of reprimand (GOMOR) from the performance side of her Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) to the restricted side of her AMHRR.

2.  She states:

	a.  The GOMOR has served its intended purpose and serves as a daily reminder of the importance to embody and apply sound judgment and professional conduct and to properly format, annotate, and cite resources.  

   b.  During this occurrence, she rewrote the papers in question and she completed the Intermediate Level Education (ILE) - Common Core (CC) Distance Learning (DL) (Phase III) scoring 5,655 out of 6,400 points.
   
   c.  The GOMOR has been in the performance folder of her AMHRR for more than 5 years, and Army Regulation 600-37 (Unfavorable Information) allows for transfer when a reprimand has served its intended purpose, when it has been filed in the AMHRR for at least 1 year since it was imposed, and when the Soldier has received at least one Officer Evaluation Report (OER) since filing of the reprimand.

3.  She provides:

* GOMOR dated 23 August 2010
* Letter of Dismissal  (undated)
* Her Rebuttal/Request for Reconsideration of Intent Memorandum dated 30 August 2010
* New grades for the Phase I Non-Resident ILE-CC Course
* New grades for the Phase III Non-Resident ILE-CC Course
* DA Forms 67-9 (Officer Evaluation Reports)
* Character references

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 14 December 1991, the applicant accepted an appointment as a Reserve commissioned officer in the grade of second lieutenant/O-1.  She has served continuously as a commissioned officer since that date in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR).

2.  She was promoted to major (MAJ)/O-4 on 27 April 2004.

3.  On 13 March 2009, the applicant was enrolled in the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (USACGSC) 1-250-ILE-CC course in Fort Leavenworth, KS.  

4.  She was promoted to lieutenant colonel (LTC)/O-5 on 30 August 2010.  Her OER from 15 June 2010 to 14 October 2010 shows she received a "best qualified" rating while serving as an LTC.

5.  In 23 August 2010, the applicant received an intent to reprimand letter from the USACGSC Deputy Commandant, while attending the USACGSC due to plagiarism.  

6.  On 30 August 2010, the applicant submitted a rebuttal and a request for reconsideration of the GOMOR.  She stated:

   a.  It is not within her character to commit any unlawful or unjust acts.  It is of the utmost importance to her that she is an individual of character, loyalty, truthfulness, integrity, trustworthiness and professionalism.
   
   b.  She used the internet as one of many resources/tools to research data for her papers in question and, to the best of her ability, analyzed the data to aid in deriving her thoughts, opinions, concerns, and to derive her essays.  It was never her intent to cheat or plagiarize.  In no way did she seek to gain an easy way out of her academic assignments.  
   
   c.  ILE was a course which had enhanced her knowledge and understanding of military national and international operations.  She sought daily growth, knowledge, and wisdom.  She had diligently worked to complete ILE, through distance learning (an 18-month curriculum), and invested man-hours, time, and sacrificed time with her children, spouse, family and work.   
   
   d.  She has committed 18 years of military service to the USAR always looking forward to growing, learning, leading, and training.  She has worked very hard, committed to excellence, ethical and professional conduct, and respectfully requested that her rewritten papers be reviewed, graded, and accepted toward course completion.  

7.  Her request was denied by the Commandant of the USACGSC.

8.  On 21 October 2010, a DA Form 1059 (Service School Academic Evaluation Report) was issued showing she was a involuntarily dismissed from the course for failure to maintain academic integrity due to two instances of plagiarism, in spite of rewriting the two papers in question and later completing the ILE distance learning Phase I and III.

9.  On 8 November 2010, she received an adverse Academic Evaluation Report from the USACGSC.

10.  The applicant was transferred to the Wofford College, 4th Brigade, U.S. Army Cadet Command in Spartanburg, SC.  She received an OER from 
15 October 2010 to 20 April 2011 which shows she received a "best qualified" rating after her dismissal from the USACGSC 1-250-ILE-CC Course as an LTC.

11.  On 16 January 2014, the applicant received her Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay (20-year letter).  She transferred to the Retired Reserve on 3 February 2015.

12.  The applicant provides character references that state:

	a.  After the incident, she has been observed to be an honorable officer dedicated to mission support and displaying loyalty to the organization and its tenets of customer service.  She demonstrated high personal moral standards and respect for others along with a willingness to accept tough duties and entertain innovative ways to conduct the business of Soldier Readiness Processing.  She is a valued professional and has great work ethic.

	b.  She was observed to be highly meticulous with tasks/duties and had exhibited overt professionalism in her interpersonal dealings with Soldiers, clients, service providers, health-services contracted vendors as well as co-workers.  She had impressed upon those with an objective perspective as an Officer striving for impartiality, has courteous practices, and performed her avowed functions in a professional manner.

	c.  She is a strong leader who requires those around her to accept responsibility for their actions.  She has a willingness to challenge individuals to achieve excellence for themselves as well as others.  Her professionalism as a Soldier has irrefutably contributed to her success in the USAR.  She has always maintained a professional attitude and demeanor in her position and is an invaluable asset to the USAR.

	d.  From day-to-day observations and interactions, she is a focused and hardworking professional who exhibits the Army values whether she is on the job or off.  She is a compassionate leader who shows care and concern for her Soldiers and will go above and beyond, always placing the mission and the Soldiers before herself.  She has always maintained a professional attitude and demeanor.  Her high spirit of cooperation, willingness, and attentiveness to duty signals a high degree of respect those who whom she serve.

13.  Army Regulation 600-37 sets forth policies and procedures to authorize placement of unfavorable information about Army members in individual AMHRR's; ensure that unfavorable information that is unsubstantiated, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete is not filed in individual AMHRR; and ensure that the best interests of both the Army and Soldiers are served by authorizing unfavorable information to be placed in and, when appropriate, removed from AMHRR's.  Unfavorable information that should be filed in the AMHRR includes indications of substandard leadership ability, promotion potential, morals, and integrity.

	a.  The regulation provides that an administrative memorandum of reprimand may be issued by an individual's commander, by superiors in the chain of command, and by any general officer or officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction over the Soldier.  The memorandum must be referred to the recipient and the referral must include and list applicable portions of investigations, reports, or other documents that serve as a basis for the reprimand.  Statements or other evidence furnished by the recipient must be reviewed and considered before filing determination is made.

	b.  A GOMOR may be filed in a Soldier's AMHRR only upon the order of a general officer-level authority and is to be filed in the performance folder.  The direction for filing is to be contained in an endorsement or addendum to the memorandum.  If the reprimand is to be filed in the AMHRR, the recipient's submissions are to be attached.  Once filed in the AMHRR, the reprimand and associated documents are permanent unless removed in accordance with Army Regulation 600-37, chapter 7.

	c.  Once an official document has been properly filed in the AMHRR, it is presumed to be administratively correct and to have been filed pursuant to an objective decision by competent authority.

	d.  Only letters of reprimand, admonition, or censure may be the subject of an appeal for transfer to the restricted folder of the AMHRR.  Normally, such appeals will be considered only from Soldiers in grades E-6 and above, officers, and warrant officers.  Such documents may be appealed on the basis of proof that their intended purpose has been served and that their transfer would be in the best interest of the Army.  The burden of proof rests with the recipient to provide substantial evidence that these conditions have been met.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available records do not show evidence of error or injustice in the GOMOR the applicant received or the decision to file the GOMOR in the performance folder of her AMHRR.

2.  It is reasonable to expect that an officer with the applicant's length of service would have taken care to ensure that any academic papers she presented for credit were properly cited.  It appears she did not take such care.  The deceit, whether or not it was intentional, warranted the GOMOR.

3.  The quality of her service subsequent and after the GOMOR is noted.  This is an insufficient basis for transfer of the GOMOR.  There is insufficient evidence to show it has served its intended purpose, and the applicant has since been transferred to the Retired Reserve.  This being the case, neither removal of the GOMOR nor transfer of the GOMOR to the restricted folder of her AMHRR is in the best interest of the Army.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting 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 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)                                         AR20130018860



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140017382



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