RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           2 February 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050007670


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Dennis J. Phillips            |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, restoration of his rank of
specialist (SPC); that his Army National Guard (ARNG) Separation Document
(NGB Form 22) be corrected to include the Army Good Conduct Medal and Army
Achievement Medal and to reflect his correct military education.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he was released from active duty
(REFRAD) with an honorable characterization of service on 4 April 1998.  At
that time, he joined the Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) and he
planned to finish his degree and go back on active duty as an officer.  He
claims he was not paid by the FLARNG for over a year, and the financial
strain he was under caused him to fail his first college class.  He states
that at this point, he had to drop out of college and work full time in
order to pay his bills.  He states that he lost his apartment and was in a
desperate state of affairs.

3.  The applicant claims after experiencing these difficulties, he wrote to
the Judge Advocate General (JAG) office requesting an early release, and
they allowed him to leave the FLARNG early.  His unit commander apologized
for the pay situation and informed him he would not have to worry about
coming to drills while his separation paperwork was processing.

4.  The applicant states that about a year later, he received a letter that
informed him that the FLARNG intended to reduce him in rank and to give him
a general, under honorable conditions discharge (GD).  He immediately went
to his commander and it was explained that his platoon sergeant had
reported him absent without leave (AWOL) and as a result his other
discharge was stopped and he was processed for separation as an
unsatisfactory participant.

5.  The applicant claims that he then reminded the commander of what he had
told him about not having to attend drills, and at that time, the unit
commander directed the personnel staff noncommissioned officer (PSNCO) to
give him his discharge with his rank intact.  He states that eight months
later he received the discharge and discovered that his orders still
indicated he was reduced to private first class (PFC).  At this time, he
immediately went back to the unit, where he discovered there was a new
PSNCO.  After he explained the situation, he was informed he would have to
apply to the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) to fix his discharge.

6.  The applicant stated that he applied to the ADRB, and it reviewed his
case and determined the characterization of his service and the reason for
his separation were inequitable, and it voted to upgrade his discharge to
an honorable discharge (HD), and to change the authority and reason to show
he was discharged from the FLARNG in order to enter the United States Army
Reserve (USAR).  However, because the ADRB did not address the issue of his
rank, PFC was still listed as his rank on his discharge orders from the
USAR.

7.  The applicant further indicates that his FLARNG separation document
also does not have his Army Achievement Medal and Army Good Conduct Medal
listed in Item 14 (Awards and Decorations), and Item 15 (Military
Education) does not accurately reflect the military education he completed.


8.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his
application:  ARNG Separation Document (NGB Form 22); Correction to NGB
Form 22 (NGB Form 22A); Active Duty Separation Document (DD Form 214); GD
Certificate (NGB Form 56a); and Recommendation for Award (DA Form 638).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  On 4 April 1998, the applicant was honorably released from active duty
(REFRAD), by reason of completion of required active duty service, after
completing a total of 2 years, 11 months and 24 days of his enlistment, and

3 months and 29 days of prior active duty service.  The DD Form 214 he was
issued shows he held the rank of SPC, which he had attained on 1 January
1997, and that he was transferring to FLARNG.

2.  The applicant’s Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) is void of a
separation packet containing the specific facts and circumstances of the
applicant’s separation processing from the FLARNG.  However, the record
does contain an ADRB Case Report & Directive (OSA Form 172), dated 2 March
2005, which contains this information.

3.  The OSA Form 172 indicates that on 7 March 2000, the applicant’s unit
commander recommended that he be discharged for unsatisfactory
participation, and that he receive a GD.  On 5 July 2000, the separation
authority approved the applicant’s discharge from the FLARNG with a GD, and
assigned him to the USAR Control Group.

4.  However, the ADRB case report points out that notwithstanding the
recommendation of the separation authority, the applicant was issued an
ARNG separation document that reflected the applicant’s service was
characterized as honorable.  This document also shows the applicant’s rank
as SPC, and that he earned the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense
Service Medal, and Overseas Service Ribbon.

5.  On 18 March 2003, United States Army Reserve Personnel Command
(ARPERSCOM) Orders Number D-02-311480 directed the applicant’s honorable
discharge from the USAR, effective 18 March 2003.  These orders listed the
applicant’s rank as PFC.

6.  On 2 March 2005, the ADRB concluded that the characterization of the
applicant’s service and the authority and reason for his FLARNG separation
were inequitable.  It voted to change the characterization of his service
to Honorable, and to change the authority and reason for his separation to
paragraph 8-27h, National Guard Regulation (NGR) 600-20, by reason of
“Become a member of the Army Reserve”.

7.  On 23 March 2005, ARNG officials published a NGB Form 22a that
corrected the following items to read as indicated:  Item 23 (Authority and
Reason) “Paragraph 8-27h, NGR 600-200 Transaction Code GAA”; Item 25 (Type
of Certificate Issued) “NGB Form 55a”; and Item 26 (Reenlistment
Eligibility)
“RE-1”.  No change was made to the applicant’s rank in Item 5a (Rank),
which read “SPC”.

8.  The applicant’s records shows that he earned the following awards and
decorations during his military service:  Army Good Conduct Medal; Army
Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon;
Overseas Service Ribbon; Expert Qualification Badge with Pistol, Machinegun
and Rocket Launcher Bars.  It also shows that he completed the following
military education courses for the length of time and in the months and
years indicated:  Police Traffic Radar, 1 week, May 1996; and SRT Tactics,
2 weeks, December 1996.

9.  The applicant provides transcripts from Central Texas College and
Hillsborough Community College, which indicate he had accumulated 61 hours
of credit, which translates to two years of college and a total of 14 years
of civilian education, by 1998.

10.   National Guard Regulation 600-200 establishes the policies, standards
and procedures for the management of enlisted ARNG Soldiers.  Table 8-2, in
effect at the time, contained guidance on the preparation of the NGB Form
22.  It stated, in pertinent part, that the highest civilian education
level attained would be entered in Item 12; that the all military awards
recorded in the record would be entered in Item 14; and that all military
courses recorded in the record would be entered in Item 15.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the separation document issued to the
applicant by the FLARNG properly reflects his rank as SPC, and it was also
corrected to reflect the authority and reason for separation recommended by
the ADRB.  However, his USAR record lists his rank as PFC.  Therefore, it
would be appropriate to correct his USAR record to show he held the rank of
SPC upon his transfer from the FLARNG to the USAR Control Group on 5 July
2000, and on the date of his discharge from the USAR, 18 March 2003.

2.  The record also shows that the following items of the applicant’s NGB
Form 22 do not contain accurate information.  Therefore, although the Board
has no authority to correct State ARNG records, governed under Title 32,
the Board is of the opinion that insofar as the Department of the Army is
concerned, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the ARNG
records of the individual concerned by correcting his NGB Form 22 to
include all his earned military awards, all his completed military courses,
and the highest civilian education he completed.

BOARD VOTE:

___YM __  ___MJF _  __DJP__  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends
that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be
corrected by showing he held the rank of specialist on 5 July 2000, the
date of his transfer from the Florida Army National Guard to the United
States Army Control Group, and on 18 March 2003, the date of his discharge
from the United States Army Reserve.

2.  Insofar as records of the Florida Army National Guard are concerned,
the Board recommends that The Adjutant General of the State of Florida
correct the records of the individual concerned by issuing a new 5 July
2000 NGB Form 22 that contains the following corrections:

      a.  Item 12 - delete the current entry and replace it with the entry
“14 Years”;

      b.  Item 14 - add the Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement
Medal, and Expert Qualification Badge with Pistol, Machinegun and Rocket
Launcher Bars;

      c.  Item 15 - add the entries “Police Traffic Radar, 1 week, May
1996” and “SRT Tactics, 2 weeks, December 1996; and

      d.  add the changes contained in the 23 March 2005 NGB Form 22a
already issued.




            ____Yolanda Maldonado___
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050007670                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/02/02                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |2000/07/05                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |NGR 600-200                             |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Become a Member of Reserve              |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.  1021 |100.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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