DEPARTMENT OF THE NAV
BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS

Y

2 NAW ANNEX

WASHINGTON DC 203704100

AEG
Docket No:
24 May 1999

3945-98

of,your

Your allegations of error and

This is in reference to your application for correction 
naval record pursuant to the provisions of Title 10, United
States Code, Section 1552.
A three-member panel of the Board for Correction of Naval
Records, sitting in executive session, considered your
application on 18 May 1999.
injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative
of this
regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings
Board.
Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of
your application, together with all material submitted in support
thereof, your naval record and applicable statutes, regulations
In addition, the Board considered the memorandum
and policies.
for record (MFR) of 20 August 1998 from the Head of the Board's
Discharge Review Section and the advisory opinion of 31 March
1999 from the Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General (JAG),
copies of which are attached.
After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire
record, the Board found that the evidence submitted was
insufficient to establish the existence of probable material
error or injustice.
The Board found that you first enlisted in the Navy on 11 July
1980 and subsequently reenlisted or extended your enlistment on
several occasions, most recently on 18 March 1994 when you
A social security account number
reenlisted for three years.
(SSAN) appears on all of the enlistment and extension documents.
The record reflects that you served in an excellent to
outstanding manner.
petty officer (STGC) in August 1988 and, between 1992 and 1995,
you earned three awards of the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement
Medal.

You were advanced to sonar technician chief

.

On 1 October 1996 you sent a letter to the Commissioner of Social
Security which began as follows:

The description of the number does not confine

I have been prompted by the Spirit of the Living God to
investigate whether the (SSAN) is related to the number
described in God's Word, the Holy Bible, the Revelation
God's Word commands that no
of John, chapter 13.
person receive a number, used by a government system
where a person may neither buy nor sell without the
number.
the government number system (of populace control) to
just obstructing buying and selling.
so, about a year ago, I began to pray for wisdom and
discernment from the living god about the issue and
began to take steps to find out if the (SSAN)
correlated to the characteristics discussed in
Revelation, Chapter  13.

You then went on to describe your efforts to opt out of the
social security program after your son was born and opined that
You then denied that you had
you were entitled to do so.
volunteered to participate in that system, refused any benefits
from the system for yourself or any members of your family,
rescinded any application for benefits or obligations made by or
for you, and reserved the right to remuneration of amounts
withheld from your pay.

You also stated as follows:

I reserve the right to make or refuse further
statements to solidify or codify my desire and design
to completely disassociate myself and my family from
anything and everything associated with the Social
Security system, program, Administration, and, but not
limited to the (SSAN).

On 6 November 1996 you sent a letter to the Chief of Naval
Personnel (CNP)  requesting a change in your Military Personnel
Identification Number (MPIN),
Military Personnel Manual (MILPERSMAN).
request, in part, as follows:

citing Article 4610100 of the Naval

You justified that

. . 

I do not have a (SSAN) and I have never had a (SSAN).
. (the) Commissioner of Social
I wrote a letter to  
Security explaining I have never applied for a (SSAN),
my religious convictions prohibit me from applying for
one, and the number previously associated with my name
Any previous
is erroneous, a fraud, and not valid.
association of my name with a (SSAN) was done without
my willful compliance, my full understanding of my
rights or responsibilities under God's Sovereign Law,
Common Law, United States Constitutional law, or
federal and state statutes.

Any association I made of

2

myself with a (SSAN) was done unconsciously without
knowledge of facts or truth about my unalienable
rights.
I am not required by positive statute to apply for or
obtain a (SSAN).
Social Security System is, and must be, voluntary. I
have never volunteered.

Application to participate in the

all, Internal Revenue Service forms, but did not

In this letter, you stated that you could place the number 
00-0000 on 
specifically request that this number become the new MPIN.
MILPERSMAN Article 4610100 provides guidance pertaining to the
MPIN and states, in part, as follows:

OOO-

1. The (MPIN) assigned to each member upon first
entering the Navy shall be the (SSAN) shown on the
. (SSAN) Card.
member's 
only upon approval by (CNP).

The (MPIN) may be changed

.. 

. 

. 

.

3. If an individual does not possess a (SSAN) Card at
the time of application for entry into the Navy, the
Navy Recruiter shall assist in obtaining an (SSAN)
. 

. 

.

In December 1996 you were reassigned from the staff of Destroyer
Squadron 32 to the Surface Ship Acoustic Analysis Center (SSAAC).
In connection with that reassignment,
executed an Administrative Remarks (Page 13) entry which stated
as follows:

on 6 December 1996 you

I understand the assignment to which I am ordered  
I hereby
requires obligated service to January 1999.
. by
agree to obligate service until January 1999 
either reenlistment or extension of enlistment prior to
my expiration of active service.
failure to incur contractual obligated service as
agreed by this administrative remarks will
automatically result in an RE-4 reenlistment code.

I understand that

. . 

.
. . 

On 6 January 1997 you resubmitted the letter of 6 November 1996
to CNP.
In your cover letter you cited problems with your prior
command in submitting the earlier letter in a timely manner, and
asked for an expeditious reply since the current enlistment would
expire on 17 March 1997 and you were required to obligate for an
additional 21 months in accordance with the foregoing page 13
entry.
Your request for a new MPIN was the subject of a memorandum of 10 

.

3

. . . 

It

Additionally, Pers-3

personnel.til

Pers-3 also cited

February 1997 from the Assistant CNP for Management Support
(Pers-3) to the Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel (DCNP). Pers-3
recommended that the request be denied, essentially citing the
first sentence of MILPERSMAN Article 4610100.
Executive Order 9397 of 22 November 1943 which states that "any
Federal department, establishment or agency shall, whenever the
head thereof finds it advisable to establish a new system of
permanent account numbers pertaining to individual persons,
utilize exclusively the
 
(SSAN's) 
pointed out that Secretary of the Navy Note (SECNAVNOTE) 1070 did
"effective 1 January 1972 the (SSAN)
exactly that by stating that
Based on
will become the sole (MPIN) for all naval 
the foregoing, on 11 February 1997 the DCNP denied your request,
which was characterized as a request to change your MPIN to 
OOO-
00-0000.
DCNP also stated that your request could be resubmitted
if the SSAN was changed by the Social Security Administration.
On 3 March 1997 you requested that the foregoing decision be
reconsidered, citing section 
Part 9 of Volume 2 Part B of the DFAS  (Defense Finance and
Accounting Service)  Pay/Personnel Procedures Manual,  
which
pertains to the maintenance of the leave and earnings statement
(LES) in the servicemember's local records. That provision of
the regulation states, in part,
"if no
a particular place on the LES,
(SSAN) is available, BUPERS will assign a pseudo-number pending
receipt of the (SSAN). 
On 5 March 1997 you submitted a request through the chain of
command to extend your enlistment in accordance with the
agreement.of 6 December 1996.
later.-
Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the servicing personnel support
detachment (PSD) which reads, in part, as follows:

that the SSAN will be printed at
but further states that 

However, on 12 March 1997 you submitted a letter to the

That request was approved one day

B90102d of Section A, Chapter 1,

. 
.I’

. . 

. was deliberately prepared with a

1. Since; the Enlistment Extension Contract prepared
for me by (PSD)  
number that I cannot identify with; signing the
contract will declare by oath the information written
above my signature is true; and I by faith am not
permitted to identify myself with a number like unto
that described in Revelation, chapter 13; I am unable
to sign the contract without violating God's sovereign
law and my convictions to declare only the 
truth.and to
obey Him, loving not my life even unto death.
2. Since; (OIC), SSAAC, communicated to me on three
occasions that according to his discussions with (OIC),
PSD, that PSD will consider any contract altered by me,
to reflect what I declare to be true, as void; the
point of my going through the effort to alter and sign
the contract is moot.

4

no; allowed to extend unless I am

. PSD and (OIC) SSAAC, informed me
3. Also since;
I am, by law,
participating in Direct Deposit System (DDS); the point
of my going through the effort to alter and sign the
contract is moot.
4. Since; I cannot, thus I will not, violate my
convictions; I am forced to choose between violating my
convictions or exercising my right to alter a contract
only to be disqualified; I cannot, and I will not, be
manipulated and coerced to sign the Enlistment
. PSD on
Extension Contract 
March 12, 1997.

present;ed  to me by 

. . 

JAGC, USN has submitted an affidavit which
Lieutenant
reads as follows concerning certain events which occurred on 13
March 1997:

. . 

. . 

. 

. 

. I attended a meeting in.the
. Present at the meeting

. . 

. told (you) that if the (SSAN) listed on

. After everyone was seated, (you

One was the presence of a (SSAN), which

At approximately 0900  
office of the (OIC), (PSD)  
were myself, (you), (and five representatives from
SSAAC and PSD)  
were) presented with an extension of enlistment
contract for signature.
(You) pointed out two mistakes in the extension
contract.
(you) indicated does not identify him because he does
not recognize the use of a (SSAN) 
official) 
the contract were lined out, PSD would consider the
contract null and void.
(you) announced to all those
At approximately 0917,
present that he had a deep religious conviction against
He also stated
claiming or being assigned a (SSAN).
that he had already indicated that he would obligate in
the U.S. Navy for 21 more months and that he intended
to fulfill that promise and gave his verbal word to do
so.
He further stated, however, that he could not in
good conscience sign the extension contract because it
contained a (SSAN), a form of identification that he
does not recognize.
(Another PSD official) indicated that discharge
processing 

. would begin immediately.

. . 

. (A PSD

. . 

Accordingly, on 17 March 1997 you were honorably discharged at
the expiration of your enlistment after about 16 years and 8
which
An RE-4 reenlistment code was assigned,
months of service.
The
indicates that you were not recommended for reenlistment.
separation code assigned, KBK, indicates that the separation was

5

SSAN was proper given your religious beliefs, and you were

1070/621) is required by MILPERSMAN
B90432b(2)  of the DFAS Pay/Personnel
The Navy is required to use the SSAN on such

At the time of separation, a page 13 entry was made
voluntary.
to the effect that you refused to sign the Certificate of Release
or Discharge From Active duty (DD Form 214) because it contained
a SSAN.
The Board carefully considered all of the material you submitted
in support of your contention, in essence, that your refusal to
use a 
involuntarily and improperly discharged as the result of a
conspiracy to deny you the right to exercise those beliefs.
However, the Board substantially concurred with the comments
contained in the advisory opinion to the effect that your right
to the free exercise of your religious beliefs was not violated,
and your discharge was proper.
The Board first noted that use of the SSAN on an Agreement to
Extend Enlistment (NAVPERS 
Article 1050150 and section 
Procedures Manual.
a document not only by its own regulations, such as MILPERSMAN
Article 4610100 and SECNAVNOTE 1070, but also because of the
provisions of Executive Order 9397 and Federal law (26 U.S.C.
The exception you cited in your letter of 3 March 1997
6109);
clearly applied only to a situation in which the individual had
no SSAN, and a temporary number was assigned pending receipt of
The Board was aware of the policy set forth in
an SSAN.
Secretary of the Navy Instruction (SECNAVINST) 1730.8 to
accommodate, when possible, religious activities of military
However, the Board agreed with the advisory opinion
members.
that such accommodation was not possible in your case given the
foregoing provisions of law and regulation.
The Board further concurred with the advisory opinion that the
failure to accommodate your religious beliefs did not violate the
Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution
since the regulations mandating the use of the SSAN were neutral
and of general applicability.
Employment Division v. Smith, 494
U.S. 874 (1990);
Flares,  521  U.S. 507 (1997).
v. 
Further, when reviewing First Amendment restrictions on military
members, courts have tended to defer to the judgment of military
officials.
Accordingly,
warranted, and your application has been denied.
The names and
votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.
It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that
favorable action cannot be taken.
You are entitled to have the
Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new and material
evidence or other matter not previously considered by the Board.
In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a
presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.

Goldman v. Weinberger, 475  
the.Board concluded that no corrective action is

City of Boerne 

U.S. 503  (1986).

6

Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval
record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the
existence of probable material error or injustice.

Sincerely,

2,0Aug98

w/encl.

Enclosures:
MFR'of 
JAG Ltr. of 
copy to:‘
The Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General (Litigation)

13Mar99