DEPARTMENT OF THE  NAVY 

B O A R D   F O R   C O R R E C T I O N   O F   N A V A L   R E C O R D S  

2  N A V Y   A N N E X  

W A S H I N G T O N   D C   2 0 3 7 0 - 5 1 0 0  

TRG 
Docket No: 5851-01 
6 May 2002 

From : 
To : 

Chairman, 
Secretary 

Board for Correction of Naval Records 
of the Navy 

Sub j : 

Ref: 

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

Encl : 

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

1.  Pursuant to the provisions of reference (a) , Petitioner, a 
commissioned officer in the Marine Corps Reserve filed an 
application with this Board requesting that his record be 
corrected to show either that he is eligible for reserve 
retirement or, in the alternative, that he be given an 
opportunity to serve for a sufficient period to earn retirement. 

2.  The Board, consisting of Mr. McPartlin, Ms. Nofziger and Ms. 
Suiter, reviewed Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice 
on 23 April 2002 and, pursuant to its regulations, determined 
that the corrective action indicated below should be taken on the 
available evidence of record.  Documentary material considered by 
the Board consisted of the enclosures, naval records, and 
applicable statutes, regulations and policies. 

3.  The Board, having reviewed all the facts of record pertaining 
to Petitioner's allegations of error and injustice, finds as 
follows: 

a.  Before applying to this Board, Petitioner exhausted all 

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

b.  Petitioner's application was filed in a timely manner. 

c.  Petitioner was honorably discharged from the Marine 

Corps on 1 September 1994 and accepted a reserve commission.  At 
the time of his discharge he had completed about 17 years and 8 
months of active service.  Apparently, he was then promoted to 
major  (W ;  0-4) while in the Marine Corps Reserve. 

d.  The Career Retirement Credit Report  (CRCR) shows that 

the first anniversary year after his release from active duty 
ended on 17 January 1995, and he was credited with 227 active 
duty points.  In the anniversary years ending 17 January 1996 and 
1997 he was a member of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) and 
only earned membership points.  During the next anniversary year, 

he was transferred to the inactive status list which resulted in 
a change in the beginning and ending dates of his anniversary 
year.  Subsequently, Petitioner returned to an active status and 
in the anniversary year ending 14 May 1998, he was only credited 
with membership points.  In the next anniversary year ending 14 
May 1999, he attended 18 drills.  When added to his 15 membership 
points, he attained 33 retirement points.  He has earned 
qualifying years since then.  At that end of the anniversary year 
on 14 May 2002, he will have earned three consecutive qualifying 
years for reserve retirement and a total of 21 years of 
qualifying service. 

e.  Petitioner completed 20 years of qualifying service on 
14 May 2001.  At that time, the law only required that the last 
six years of qualifying service be in the reserve component. 
However, Petitioner did not meet this requirement at that time. 
On 1 January 2002 the law reverted to the requirement that the 
last eight qualifying years for retirement be in a reserve 
component.  Petitioner cannot meet this requirement until 14 May 
2007. 

f.  Headquarters Marine Corps  (HQMC) (MMSR-5) has adopted 

the policy that if an individual had 20 qualifying years prior to 
1 January 2002, the six year requirement would still apply to 
those individuals in the future.  Whether or not this policy will 
continue after a transition period is unknown. 

g.  Title 10 U.S.C. 14701 allows for reserve officers in pay 

grade 0-4 who have twice failed of selection be considered, upon 
request, by a selection board for continuation in an active 
status to complete 24 years of commissioned service.  The Marine 
Corps precept for this type of board only allows consideration of 
those officers with more than 16 but less than 18 years of 
service and who can become retirement eligible during the 
continuation period.  Since Petitioner has over 18 years of 
service and could not qualify for retirement he cannot now be 
considered for continuation.  Although individuals are continued 
for four years, they are required to request reserve retirement 
at the earliest date they are eligible. 

h.  On 29 June 2001, Petitioner was informed by HQMC that 
since he would complete 20 years of commissioned service on 19 
August 2002 and has twice failed of selection to lieutenant 
colonel  (LTCOL: 0-5), his discharge is required no later than 1 
September 2002. 

i.  Petitioner states in his application that his requests 

to enter a drilling status were denied for three years because of 
an affiliation freeze and fiscal reasons.  Since he has over 20 
years of qualifying service and is not eligible for consideration 

for continuation, he believes that the Board should correct the 
record to allow him to qualify for reserve retirement.  This 
would require the transfer of 17 retirement points into the 
anniversary year with 33 retirement points and continuation for 
an maximum of four years so he can earn the last six or eight 
years, whichever is required, in the reserve component. 

j.  On 12 March 2001 Petitioner made an additional 

submission requesting that the Board correct the record to show 
that he is eligible for reserve retirement in 2002 and not 
require him to earn any further qualifying years.  In support of 
his request, he points out that he cannot serve in his military 
occupational specialty (MOS) because he has not been in a flying 
status for many years and is too senior for retraining.  He also 
has lost his pay billet because of his pending discharge and 
believes he will be too senior to obtain another billet. 
Therefore, he believes he will have to complete correspondence 
courses to earn points for retirement.  Since he has already 
completed the Command and Staff Course and has several graduate 
degrees and designations, he believes that he will be reduced to 
taking courses like "Math for Marines" and other low level 
courses for four years.  He believes, in effect, that it is not 
worthwhile to retain him just to complete an administrative 
requirement when the ultimate result in either circumstance will 
be the payment of retired pay at age 60. 

CONCLUSION: 

Upon review and consideration of all the evidence of record the 
Board concludes that Petitioner's request warrants favorable 
action.  The Board notes that that Petitioner has over 20 
qualifying years for retirement but is not eligible because of 
the requirement that the last six or eight years of qualifying 
service be in the reserve component.  Further, Petitioner might 
not have realized that his period of inactivity could lead to his 
failures of selection and attrition from the Marine Corps 
Reserve.  In addition, Petitioner's inability to join a reserve 
unit may have been through no fault of his own and he should have 
been advised at the time that he could earn qualifying years by 
completing correspondence courses while in the IRR. 

The Board considered his request for immediate retirement but 
believes that it is appropriate to require him to meet the 
requirements for reserve retirement.  Therefore, given his many 
years of excellent service and the other circumstances of the 
case, the Board concludes that the record should be corrected to 
allow him to earn reserve retirement by completing eight years of 
qualifying service to preclude any future problems with the six 
or eight year rule.  Therefore, the record should be corrected by 
moving 17 retirement points from the excess over 50 in subsequent 

anniversary years into the anniversary year ending 14 May 1999, a 
year in which he now has 33 retirement points.  With this 
correction, he will have four qualifying years in the reserve 
component at the end of his anniversary year on 14 May 2002.  His 
record should then be further corrected to show that he was 
continued in the Marine Corps Reserve, as an exception to policy, 
for an additional period of four years under the provisions of 
Title 10 U.S.C. 14701.  Finally, he should be required to request 
retirement at the earliest possible date.  This is estimated to 
be 1 June 2004 if the six year rule is applied or 1 June 2006 if 
the eight year rule is deemed applicable. 

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 in the Marine Corps Reserve. 

RE COMMENDAT ION : 

a.  That Petitioner's naval record be corrected by moving 17 
retirement points from the excess over 50 in subsequent 
anniversary years into the anniversary year ending 14 May 1999. 

b.  That Petitioner be continued in the Marine Corps Reserve 
under the provisions of Title 10 U.S.C. 14701 for four year and 
that he be required to retire at the earliest possible date. 

c.  That this Report of Proceedings be filed in Petitioner's 
naval record. 

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

5.  The foregoing report of the Board is submitted for your 
review and action. 

Acting Recorder 

W. DEAN PFEIF b.bw- 

May  8,  2 0 0 2  

Assistant General Counsel(Manpower and Reserve Affairs) 

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