DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2006-179 
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
AUTHOR:  Andrews, J.  
 
 
This proceeding was conducted according to the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and 
section 425 of title 14 of the United States Code.  The Chair docketed the case on September 22, 
2006, upon receipt of the completed application.   
 
 
appointed members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated  May  31,  2007,  is  approved  and  signed  by  the  three  duly 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

The  applicant  alleged  that  when  she  transferred  from  the  Navy  to  the  Coast  Guard  on 
August 14, 2006, thirty-five days of leave that she had accrued in the Navy were not transferred 
as  they  should  have  been.    The  applicant  submitted  a  copy  of  her  Navy  Leave  and  Earning 
Statement dated August 31, 2006, which shows that she had thirty-five days of accrued leave.   

The applicant alleged that her Coast Guard recruiter told her that if she brought him her 
Navy DD 214 on the day of her discharge, she could sign an oath of office to become a Coast 
Guard officer, avoid a break in service, and have her leave balance transferred.  Although she did 
so,  he  failed  to  have  her  sign  an  extended  active  duty  (EAD)  contract  as  well,  so  her  record 
showed  a  break  in  active  duty  and  her  leave  was  not  transferred.    When  she  reported  to  her 
permanent unit on August 19, 2006, she was required to sign another oath of office as well as an 
EAD contract.  

 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On January 23, 2007, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Coast Guard submitted 
an advisory opinion recommending that the Board grant relief.  The JAG adopted the facts and 
analysis  provided  in  a  memorandum  on  the  case  prepared  by  the  Coast  Guard  Personnel 
Command (CGPC). 

 
CGPC stated that the “only program in force that specifically authorizes the carry over of 
leave from Service to Service is under Inter-Service Transfer of Commissioned Officers, DOD 
Directive 1300.4.1  Under that directive, the transfer of an officer’s leave depends upon whether 
there is a break in active duty, not upon whether there is a break in service.  However, CGPC 
stated  that  the  Coast  Guard  “is  bound  by  the  earlier  [August  14,  2006]  oath  [of  office]  and 
recommends that the August 19, 2006 oath be removed from her record.”  CGPC further stated 
that the applicant’s Direct Access Orders show that she was supposed to begin EAD “in time to 
report to DCO [Direct Commission Officer] School and that it shall commence effective August 
14, 2006.”  CGPC stated that because of this conflicting information, the Board should eliminate 
the applicant’s break in active duty so that the four days from August 15 through August 18, 
2006, will count leave from active duty rather than inactive service.   

 
CGPC submitted a copy of the applicant’s Standard Travel Orders, which state that she 
“has agreed to a four (4) year extended active duty contract to commence on 14 AUG 06” but 
also that her EAD contract would be executed when she arrived at the Academy on August 19, 
2006.  CGPC recommended that the Board grant relief by  

 

(a) removing the applicant’s August 19, 2006, oath of office as null and void, so that only 

the oath dated August 14, 2006, remains in her record;  

(b) adjusting the period of her EAD contract to extend from August 14, 2006, to August 

13, 2010, instead of August 19, 2006, to August 18, 2010;  

(c) charging the applicant for leave used from August 15 through 18, 2006;  
(d) correcting her record to show continuous active duty so that she can be credited with 

pay and entitlements; and  

(e) adjusting her leave balance so that she will be credited with any verified leave balance 
she  was  authorized  to  carry  over  from  the  Navy  under  a  Department  of  Defense  or  other 
directive.      

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

On February 13, 2007, the applicant informed the Board that she does not object to the 

 

 
 
recommendation by CGPC. 
 

FURTHER PROCEEDINGS 

 
Upon  inquiry  by  the  BCMR  staff,  the  JAG  agreed  that  because  the  applicant  was  dis-
 
charged from the Navy on August 14, 2006, she was still a member of the Navy through the end 
of that day and should not have been allowed to take the oath of office to become an ensign in 
the Coast Guard until August 15, 2006, since no one can simultaneously be a member of both the 
Navy and the Coast Guard.  The JAG recommended that her record be corrected to show that she 
was appointed a Coast Guard officer and began EAD on August 15, 2006, which would entail no 
break in service or in active duty. 
 
                                                 
1  Because  the  applicant  was  an  E-5  petty  officer  in  the  Navy,  DOD  Directive  1300.4  is  not  clearly 
applicable to the circumstances of her case. 

 
On  May  8,  2007,  the  BCMR  staff  informed  the  applicant  of  the  JAG’s  new  recom-
mendation in a telephone conversation.  The applicant stated that she had heard from someone 
else that August 15, 2006, should be her date of entry in the Coast Guard and that she did not 
object to having the date of her oath of office and EAD contract corrected to August 15, 2006. 
 

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

The Board makes the following findings and conclusions on the basis of the applicant's 

 
 
military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and applicable law: 
 

The Board has jurisdiction concerning this matter pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552.  

The application was timely.  

1. 

 
2. 

 
3. 

 
4. 

The  applicant  alleged  that  her  recruiter  told  her  that  her  leave  balance  would 
transfer from the Navy to the Coast Guard if she brought her DD 214 to him on the day of her 
discharge and signed an oath of office so that she would have no break in service.  On the day 
she was discharged from the Navy, August 14, 2006, the applicant’s recruiter had her sign an 
oath of office, but he did not have her sign an EAD contract.  Therefore, she had no break in 
service, but she did have a break in active duty, which apparently may prevent the Coast Guard 
from including her Navy leave balance in her Coast Guard leave balance.  The Board finds the 
applicant’s allegation credible in light of the fact that the recruiter had her sign an oath of office 
to become a member of the Coast Guard on a date that she was still a member of the Navy. 

The  applicant’s  orders  are  ambiguous  because  in  one  place  they  show  that  her 
EAD was to begin on August 14, 2006, while in another place they show that her EAD was to 
begin on August 19, 2006.  This ambiguity might have prevented the applicant from ensuring 
that she had no break in active duty.  The Board notes in this regard that the applicant’s Navy 
DD 214 shows that she began active duty on August 24, 1998.  Since military enlistment and 
extension  contracts  are  executed  in  terms  of  whole  months  and  whole  years,  it  is  extremely 
unlikely that her Navy enlistment naturally terminated on August 14, 2006.  Had the applicant 
been properly advised that her leave balance could not transfer unless she had no break in active 
duty and that her EAD would not start until August 19, 2006, she might have arranged to remain 
on active duty in the Navy but take leave until the day before she could sign an EAD contract. 

In light of the recruiter’s poor advice, the ambiguity in the applicant’s orders, the 
apparent lack of a Coast Guard instruction or regulation dealing expressly with this issue, and the 
recommendation of the JAG, the Board finds that relief should be granted by 

 
(a) removing the applicant’s August 19, 2006, Acceptance and Oath of Office as null and 
void, and correcting the date on her remaining Acceptance and Oath of Office from August 14, 
2006, to August 15, 2006;  

(b) correcting the period of her four-year EAD contract to extend from August 15, 2006, 

through August 14, 2010, instead of from August 19, 2006, through August 18, 2010;  

(c) charging the applicant for leave used from August 15 through 18, 2006;  
(d) correcting the applicant’s record to show continuous active duty so that she can be 

credited with pay and entitlements; and  

(e)  adjusting  the  applicant’s  Coast  Guard  leave  balance  to  reflect  that  on  August  15, 
2006, she was credited with any verified unused leave balance she had accrued in the Navy upon 
her discharge from the Navy on August 14, 2006.   

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES APPEAR ON NEXT PAGE]

 
 

ORDER 

 

The  application  of  Ensign  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,  USCGR,  for  correction  of  her 

military record is granted as follows.  The Coast Guard shall    

 
(a) remove her August 19, 2006, Acceptance and Oath of Office as null and void, and 
correct  the  date  on  her  remaining  Acceptance  and  Oath  of  Office  from  August  14,  2006,  to 
August 15, 2006;  

(b)  correct  the  period  of  her  four-year  EAD  contract  to  extend  from  August  15,  2006, 

through August 14, 2010, instead of from August 19, 2006, through August 18, 2010;  
(c) charge her for leave used from August 15, 2006, through August 18, 2006;  
(d) correct her record to show continuous active duty so that she can be credited with pay 

and entitlements; and  

(e)  adjust  her  Coast  Guard  leave  balance  to  reflect  that  on  August  15,  2006,  she  was 
credited with any verified unused leave balance she had accrued in the Navy upon her discharge 
from the Navy on August 14, 2006.   

 
The  Coast  Guard  shall  pay  her  any  amount  she  may  be  due  as  a  result  of  these 

 
corrections. 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

  

 
 Patrick B. Kernan 

 

 

 
 Donald A. Pedersen 

 

 

 
 Kenneth Walton