DEPARTMENTOFTHE  NAVY

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORD

S

2 NAVY ANNE

X

WASHINGTON DC 20370-510

0 TRG

Docket No: 848-01
6 December 2001

Chairman, Board for Correction of Naval Records
Secretary of the Navy

(a) Title 10 U.S.C. 1552

(1) Case Summary
(2) Subject's naval record

From:
To:

Subj:

Ref:

Encl:

Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a), Petitioner, the

1.
widow of a retired commissioned officer in the Marine Corps
Reserve filed an application
late husband's record be corrected to show that he became
entitled to retired pay at age 60 and made a Survivor Benefit
Plan (SBP) election for her.

with this Board requesting that her

Mackey, Mr. Cooper and Ms. Hare,

The Board, consisting of Mr.  

2.
reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice on 27
November 2001 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined that
the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the
available evidence of record.
the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and
applicable statutes, regulations and policies.
.
3.
to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice, finds as
follows:

The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining

Documentary material considered by

a.

Before applying to this- Board, Petitioner exhausted all

administrative remedies available under existing law and
regulations within the Department of the Navy.

b.

Although it appears that Petitioner's application was

not filed in a timely manner,
waive the statute of limitations and review the application on
its merits.

it is in the interest of justice to

Subject enlisted in the Naval Reserve on 12 May 1942 and

repor:ed  for primary flight training on 11 June 1942.
He was
commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve on
17 April 1943.
the remainder of World War II.
reserve commission.
provides that all reserve service prior to 1 July 1949 is
creditable for reserve retirement purposes.

He then served in an excellent manner throughout

Title 10 U.S.C. 1331 (now 10 U.S.C. 12732)

After the war he retained his

Therefore, as of 1

July 1949, he was credited with 7 years, 1 month and 19 days of
service for reserve retirement purposes.

d.

In the four anniversary years beginning on 1 July 1949

Subject earned no further qualifying
However, in the first year he was credited with 16 points

and ending on 30 June 1953,
years.
from annual training and in the third year he was credited with
eight drills.
Beginning on 1 July 1953 and continuing through 31
May 1963, he earned consecutive qualifying years totaling 9 years
and 11 months.
On 1 June 1963,
he transferred to the Retired Reserve.
This was an honorary
status because he did not have 20 qualifying years for reserve
retirement.
died on 3 April 1999.

Subject became 60 years of age on 23 April 1982 and

He was also promoted to Major.

e.

Apparently, Petitioner then attempted to find out what
benefits she was entitled to based on Subject's military service.
On 13 December 2000, Headquarters Marine Corps informed Subject's
son, that no benefits were due.
However, it was recommended that
the widow petition this Board because it appeared that  
had 19 years and 11 months of qualifying service, and his
transfer to the honorary retired list was probably in error.

S.ubject

f.

Attached to enclosure (1) is an advisory opinion from

Headquarters Marine Corps which now states that Subject has only
been credited with 17 years and 19 days of qualifying service for
reserve retirement and not the 19 years and 11 months, as
previously represented to the family.
states, in part, as follows:

The advisory opinion

Our review appears to indicate that (Subject) was
not-aware  of the change in policy after 1 July 1949, to
restrict retirement credit to only the points earned in
support of various activities such as: Inactive Duty
Training (IDT), Correspondence Courses, Active Duty
Training (ADT), and the 15 membership points.

. 

. The four anniversary years (1 July 1949 to 30 June
. 
1953 immediately following the change in policy are all
non-qualifying years of service for (him).
It appears
sometime after 1 July 1953,
of his situation.
steps to ensure he earned the required fifty points
necessary to obtain qualifying years of service until
his honorary retirement on 31 May 1963.

(he) was made fully aware
Fur that time on, (he) took prudent

. . . .

. 

. It is reasonable to assume any major change in

. 
policy such as this change represented would require a

2

period of adjustment and reeducation.
qualifying years of service immediately following the
four non-qualifying years . . . seem to indicate the word
got passed, albeit a little late. . . .

(His) string of

. 

. 

. We recommend the following:

The Board for Correction of Naval Records
(BCNRT*direct Headquarters Marine Corps (MMSR-5) to
redistribute retirement points in such a way as to
ensure (he) satisfies the minimum retirement point
requirement for twenty qualifying years of service.

b.

(That BCNR) direct  

. (MMSR-5) to provide
the surviving spouse with the opportunity to make an
election for Reserve Component Survivors Benefit Plan
(RCSBP) under the provisions in force at the time of
(his) having obtain twenty qualifying years of service.

. . . 

(That BCNR) direct

(MMSR-5) to transfer
(him)cto the Retired Reserve-Awaiting Pay at Age Sixty
vice his transfer to the Retired Reserve without pay,
with the same effective date of transfer of 31 May
1963.

CONCLUSION:

The Board notes  

HQMC's position that Subject must not

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record the
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants favorable
action.
been aware of the requirement to earn retirement points.
However, the Board is also aware that the recording of points in
the first years after 1 July 1949 was not very accurate.
case, he has actually been credited with 16 retirement points in
the first year and eight points in the third year.
The Board
believes that he would not have performed annual training and
been credited with drills if he had not been in a status to earn
additional points.
This suggests that there may very well have
been other points that were not credited.
one of the years had been qualifying, Petitioner would have had
18 qualifying years and would have been retained and given an
opportunity to qualify for reserve retirement.
circumstances, the Board agrees with the recommendation contained
in the advisory opinion that Subject's naval record should be
corrected to show entitlement to retired pay at age 60.
The
record should be further corrected to show that at that time of
his transfer to the Retired List on 23 April 1982, he made an SBP
election based on the full amount of his retired pay with his

Further, even if only

In this

Given the

3

wife as beneficiary.

The corrective action can be accomplished by transferring
sufficient points from the excess over 50 in the qualifying years
to raise the total to 50 retirement points in three of the years
which are not qualifying for reserve retirement.
correction, Petitioner will have 20 qualifying years and at the
time of his transfer to the Retired Reserve on 1 June 1963 would
have been eligible for retired pay at 60.
be corrected to show that he transferred to the Retired List on
23 April 1982 his 60th birthday.

The record should then

With this

The Board further concludes that this Report of Proceedings
should be filed in Petitioner's naval record so that all future
reviewers will understand his status on the Retired List.

RECOMMENDATION:

That Petitioner's naval record be corrected by transferring

a.
sufficient points from qualifying years for reserve retirement to
raise the total to 50 retirement points in three of the years
which are not qualifying years.
would have been eligible for reserve retirement on transfer to
The record should be
the Retired Reserve effective 1 June 1963.
further corrected to show that he transferred to the Retired List
on 23 April 1982 his 60th birthday.

With this correction Petitioner

That Petitioner's naval record be further corrected to show
b.
that on 23 April 1982 he made a Survivor Benefits Plan election
based on the full amount of his Retired Pay with his wife as
beneficiary.

That this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner's

C .
naval record.

It is certified that a quorum was present at the Board's

4.
review and deliberations,
and that the foregoing is a true and
complete record of the Board's proceedings in the above entitled
matter.

ROBERT D. ZSALMAN
Recorder

&LAN E. 
Acting Recorder

&%DSM&H-

Pursuant to the delegation of authority set out in

5.
6(e) of the revised Procedures of the Board for Correction of
Naval Records (32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 723.6(e))
and having assured compliance with its provisions, it is hereby

Section

4

announced that the foregoing corrective action, taken under the
authority of reference (a),
has been approved by the Board on
behalf of the Secretary of the Navy.